The Five Femme Fatale
by El3v3n
Summary: On a mission with the hope of becoming a professional kunoichi assassin, Sakura inadvertently attracts the attention of a certain 5,000 year old Egyptian vampire who will, quite literally, turn her world upside down. AU
1. Four Years Later

_The Five Femme Fatale_

Kochou-hime

**All characters belong to their respective owners.**

Four Years Later

Sakura sighed as she flipped the page from the book before her; determined the review the material at least one last time. Blowing a strand of light pink hair away from her nose, she shifted in her seat at the kitchen table where it resided in an uncomfortably cramped kitchen. The distraction of her surroundings drew away her attention as the young kunoichi let her eyes drift across her tiny apartment. Although the attentive girl kept her surroundings perfectly tidy, its sheer modesty stung as a poor reminder of her achievements or rather, lack there of.

She easily recalled the day she had moved away from home into a place of her own. The prospect of freedom from her, sometimes, rather irritating parents was a shiny desire that had rang with her for quite sometime. While she had learned to empathize with the pain her teammates and closest friends had endured growing up without people to love and care for them; at twenty years old she yearned for a taste of independency. However, two years later, reality had proved to be far less satisfying than expected. Shaking her head she cast her eyes back toward her book prepared to refocus when blaring sounds of music startled her as they rang down from the floor above. Sakura grit her teeth and pulled on the sides of her cherry blossom colored hair in an annoyed fit of rage. Her inner self demanded that she march up to her neighbor and artfully demonstrate why no one irritates _Sakura Haruno_ with bad electronic music at all hours of the night! But, nevertheless, the real flesh and blood Sakura conferred her anger to slamming the defenseless book shut.

"I'm outta here." She grumbled and stealthily slipped from the doorway of her hole in the wall apartment.

The cool night air brushed gently across her face as she took a moment to admire the tranquility within the Hidden Leaf village. She at least had that to be thankful for, amidst her current unhappiness with her stagnant progress as a ninja. Suddenly, her ears picked up the sound of voices as she traveled down the cracked sidewalks of Konoha.

"So, did you hear the Jonin appointment results came out today?" An unrecognized Leaf shinobi said to another.

"Yeah, and Naruto finally made the cut. That kid sure is talented but he's pretty thick in the skull isn't he?" The man laughed.

Sakura's face lit up with a smile. She had almost forgotten about the Jonin appointments coming up today; as she was obsessing over the particulars of her upcoming mission. Laughing to herself she could only imagine Naruto's excitement to finally be one step closer to his dream of becoming Hokage of Konoha. He had been the last of their surviving Ninja Academy class to earn the status, but that was Naruto for you, always dead last. She grinned widely into the night and burst out into a run of incredible speed. Scaling the rooftops of several buildings she sent herself into a leap where she landed on the stoop of another apartment and quickly rapped on the door. Several moments passed before a shuffling was heard at the apartment's entry. Naruto decked out in his boyish pajamas finally opened the door, squinty eyed and confused. He mumbled something inaudible causing Sakura to erupt into laughter.

"Congratulations on becoming a Jonin, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly with a wink and a peace sign. "You should be out celebrating! Go on and get dressed, I'm taking you out for some ramen!" The new Jonin's eyes flew open at the mention of his favorite dish.

"Sakura!" He shouted. "Alright! I'll be right back!" The blonde disappeared from the doorway in a flash leaving Sakura to only shake her head with a smile. Moments later he reappeared at the door dressed near identically to Sakura who also donned the Jonin sage colored vest and long black pants. "Hurry up Sasuke! We're going out for ramen!" He called behind him.

Sakura froze as an ice cold chill ran up her spine and spread across her delicate white skin. The third member of the original team Kakashi casually approached the apartment's exit wearing an irritated scowl across his face. Sparkling emerald eyes briefly met with those of the blackest coal before the kunoichi swiftly shifted her gaze to the ground. Sasuke sneered as he held his hands balled into fists along the sides of his all black clothing.

"Come on, let's get this over with." Sasuke said darkly finally passing through the doorway, but not before tossing another scowl to his two reunited teammates.

"Stop being such an asshole Sasuke, even you've gotta eat! Besides, hanging out with the old team is better than being imprisoned isn't it?" Naruto called playfully with a jab at Sasuke's side as the three began their way to his favorite ramen cart. Sasuke jerked at Naruto's touch and growled through his teeth.

"That's debatable." He said coldly. Sakura said nothing but frowned as she saw a pained expression pass through Naruto's features momentarily before he plastered a characteristic grin across his face that he always wore even in his saddest moments.

The triumphant victory of Konoha over Madera Uchiha's malicious intent had been a glorious leap toward the Ninja world's peaceful dreams, but, the greatest prize of his elimination had been the recollection of their defected teammate, to whom neither Sakura nor Naruto had ever gave up on. He hadn't come quietly. Naruto had been the one to defeat him, and despite Sasuke's pleas for his rival to dispatch him permanently; the bearer of the Nine-tailed Demon Fox had brought him home to the Hidden Leaf, just as he had promised Sakura nearly six years before.

It had been a bloody war, in which many great ninja had lost their lives. In a time where there seemed to be no hope; the persistence and diligence of Team 7's leader had led to the final destruction of the detestable Uchiha. The Hidden Leaf village responded quickly to their hailed hero, immediately ousting Danzo, the traitorous sixth, and demanded Kakashi to be the seventh Hokage. To the great surprise of his team and those who knew him, he accepted. That had been almost a year ago.

Perhaps it had been Kakashi's great love for his missing-nin student, or maybe it was some sort of attempt to undo the complicated wrongdoing that Konoha had done to Sasuke and his clan, but, the newest Hokage had refused to sentence him to death although nearly all of Konoha had cried out for blood. Sasuke would argue that he had sentenced him to something worse. The Uchiha had been given to the responsibility of Naruto who swore to never rest before he filled the empty shell of the man he thought of as his brother; back to being a whole person and if Sasuke didn't comply, he would be imprisoned.

"Yeah right Sasuke. Hey! Race ya there!" Naruto laughed and took off. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and quickly disappeared after his rival; unable to turn down a challenge.

Sakura sighed as she too brought forth her ninja speed to keep up with her teammates. The healing process of the man she had once professed her love to had been a slow one, but little by little both she and Naruto had seen little hints of a human being poking through. She stopped before the ramen cart and couldn't help but laugh as she watched Naruto throwing a fit over the fact that Sasuke had beat him. Sasuke smirked for a moment, but it quickly faded as an empty expression returned once more to his emotionless face. The kunoichi let her eyes linger on the complex Uchiha as she walked toward them. Her torch for him still emblazed with the brightest and greatest love, but it had not been all that long ago that she had finally realized…he would not-he could not; ever love her back in the way she desired. The three approached the bar and Sakura shook the sad thoughts from her head and lifted her finger into the air.

"Three bowls of ramen, please!"

"Ooh, oh! I want a pork bowl, Old man!" Naruto announced and began to dig into his meal as the official team of the seventh Hokage was served. Sakura laughed as she listened to Naruto tell the story of his day between bowls of ramen.

"Of course Kakashi-sensei waited until the very end of the day to announce I had been promoted to a Jonin, damn him! He had me worrying all day long!"

"That's our sensei for you! You know how he is; he's never punctual." Sakura teased as she stuck out her tongue and pointed her chopsticks toward Naruto. The Fourth's son merely narrowed his eyes before he plastered a grin across his face.

"Thanks for taking me out on a date Sakura!" He grinned with a snicker. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Naruto! This is not a date!" Sakura insisted as Naruto stuck out his tongue and went back to slurping his ramen bowl. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he continued to slowly eat his meal in silence. Naruto's romantic interest in Sakura had faded over the years, but the two had come even closer than ever after all the time they spent together as teammates who shared the same dedication for rescuing their friend. Still, he found it amusing to tease the pink haired girl and cared for her deeply.

"Hey Sasuke! Maybe if you train as hard as me, you'll be promoted to a Jonin someday too!" Naruto said tauntingly as he chortled in laughter. Sasuke scowled and then suddenly smirked.

"Didn't you hear? Our great hokage already promoted me to Jonin status months ago." Sasuke replied. Naruto turned red in the face as Sakura sucked in a deep preparative breath.

"What!?" Naruto demanded as he leapt from his seat. "How could he do that!? When I see him next I'm gonna kick…"

"Hello!" Came a voice from behind the teammates. They all turned in shock to see they're beloved sensei at the cart's entry with his favorite Icha Icha novel in hand.

"Good evening, Hokage!" The other ramen cart's patrons chorused as Kakashi traveled toward where his beloved team sat. Naruto nearly erupted and lunged toward his sensei; only to be grabbed around the waist and held back by Sakura.

"What the heck are you doing here?! I can't believe you made Sasuke a Jonin. He didn't even take the Chunin exams again!" Naruto bellowed. Kakashi grinned from beneath his mask.

"Why Naruto, I just came to buy you some celebratory ramen." The masked ninja master said coolly. Naruto's eyes lit up at the prospect of more food. He promptly leapt back onto the bar stool and pointed at the waiter.

"Well, you heard the Hokage Old man! Keep 'em coming!" He said enthusiastically as he was slid another bowl of his favorite noodle soup. Kakashi chuckled to himself and took a seat on the other side of Sakura setting his novel beside him; paying no notice to the deep scowl he was receiving from Sasuke.

"Well now Sakura, I'm surprised to see you out so late. Tomorrow is the big day isn't it?" The Hokage asked of the young kunoichi. Sakura nodded with an unconvincing smile. Naruto took a slurp from his umpteenth ramen bowl.

"Why the heck do you have to go by yourself? Most of us haven't even been into the Civilian world before. It's dumb for you to go there alone." Naruto said grumpily. Sasuke visibly perked up in interest to Naruto's statement.

"Naruto, if Sakura is to be even considered to be given the title of a professional assassin, she must carry out a solo hit on her own outside of the realm of the Ninja countries. Those are just the rules." Kakashi explained tranquilly. Sakura bit her lip and she felt her stomach tumble as the conversation was inducing her anxiousness for the mission.

"I still don't like it." Naruto narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably in his seat and stood.

"I'm going to go stand outside for a while." He said coldly. Naruto turned to follow him when Kakashi's hand had reached around Sakura to fall upon his shoulder.

"Let him go. If he hasn't run away for the past year he's not going to do it now." The Hokage ordered. Naruto squelched his worried expression and turned back to his ramen.

Although times of peace were the hope of every sane ninja; they sure made for hard times for those in the medical field. Over the past few years, Sakura had excelled her healing ninjutsu to the point where she was hands down the absolute best medical ninja currently residing in Konoha, if not of all the Ninja provinces. As her skill in the field grew each year during the heated times of war where it was needed extensively, so did her striking beauty. The young kunoichi had taken on many of the aspects of her former master; the legendary fifth Hokage of the Leaf, Tsunade.

In peaceful eras, it was extremely uncommon for a team to be assigned a medical ninja as injuries were far less frequent. Sakura's amount of missions in the past months had been abysmal, which took a great hit to both her kunoichi pedigree record and her bank account. She worked in the Konoha hospital for the most of each week, but the pay there hardly compared to what a normal Jonin earned on missions outside of the village.

Sakura had always resented looking awkward when she was younger, almost as much as she begrudged being beautiful now. It was horribly ironic. In the academy days, the most beautiful girls retained the attention of the young male shinobis, but as the men matured and considered carrying on the name of their clans; they were more interested in taking women with great jutus and blood lines to carry on their name. Sakura, unfortunately, was exceptionally average in both of those areas. With all these factors combined, the medical proficient and stunning young woman had become severely disadvantaged to her expertise and that's what had ultimately driven her to taking interest in the most revered prowess of the kunoichi.

Since the time of the very first ninjas, the very finest of kunoichi were specially trained to be perfect assassins. The nature of their art was purely based on deception. While most kunoichi assassins were physically weaker than their targets, they had the ability to get closer to even the strongest shinobi; more so than any other male ninja could attain. These women were often the most beautiful, as the best assassins could lure their victim to come to them.

As time has gone on, the ninja profession of assassination had grown into a formal one. Each ninja village had their own league of highly trained assassins that was compromised primarily by kunoichi. These women were all highly skilled and revered, as being an assassin was still considered a most honorable profession. However, there was an even higher level of assassin that ranked even above the professional hit-kunoichi.

Codename: The Five Femme Fatale. This elite group consisted of the most deadly kunoichi of the Ninja world. The five women were appropriately referred to by special codenames after the most venomous serpents to crawl the Earth: the Cobra, the Viper, the Cottonmouth, the Copperhead, and the number one most deadly assassin of all retained the name of the _Black Mamba_.

When Sakura's closest on and off childhood friend, Ino, had suggested that they look into the profession; the pink haired girl had balked at the idea. However, after learning that Anko currently held the title of the Black Mamba, she became more optimistic since the most recent best and deadliest assassin would be available to guide them. After going on several team missions with Ino and other hopefuls to join the league; the time had finally come for her to prove her expertise in the field. While she had no hopes for joining the elite and highest honored league of the Femme Fatale; the young kunoichi still aimed her hopes toward earning her professional status and thereby increasing her mission potential.

After Naruto had finally eaten his fill. The waiter promptly placed the bill in front of Sakura and before the young girl could even glance at it, Kakashi had snatched it away.

"I'll take care of this." He said cheerfully earning a wry smile from the girl. Rarely did even the minutest details of his only graduating team of ninja get past him; she was embarrassingly sure that Kakashi had bent his power as Hokage to keep a close watch on her financials. "This mission will be good for you Sakura. I have the utmost faith that when you succeed Anko will see it fit to award you professional status. And believe me, there are always missions for assassins, even in times without war." Sakura smiled genuinely and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei." Said one of the only three people who still used his name. "I better be getting home. Tomorrow is a big day!" Kakashi nodded as Sakura stood and looked to Naruto who appeared to have a tummy ache from consuming too much ramen. "Congratulations again Naruto!" She smiled receiving only a pained groan from her comrade.

Upon exiting the partially enclosed eatery, she immediately noticed Sasuke standing aloof against a tree. Wrestling momentarily with at least bidding him goodbye, she thought better of it as she decided she wasn't up for a bitter tongue lashing. She turned to walk away when she was suddenly stopped by a voice.

"Sakura," Sasuke called out softly. Sakura turned around in amazement to see that the normally hateful Uchiha was now strolling toward her.

"Sasuke," she nearly whispered as he stopped before her and looked down upon the much shorter woman.

"It's true you're leaving the borders of the Ninja countries tomorrow, alone?" He asked quietly. Sakura nodded slowly as Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Listen to me Sakura, a lot of people around here have the notion that the world outside of the Ninja provinces is only filled with those of the weak, but I know firsthand that it isn't the case." He said darkly. In the time Sasuke had been coerced into plotting against the destruction of Konoha, he had been to many places and done things Sakura dare not ask about. So, she assumed that he probably did have more experience outside the Ninja realm than that of the everyday shinobi.

"What do you mean Sasuke?" Sakura asked somewhat confused by what he meant. He looked away from her and out into the East.

"There are _things _out there." He emphasized. "Beings that resemble humans but are not and are far more deadly than they appear." He turned his hateful black eyes back to Sakura and if perhaps for just an instant, they softened as he muttered a shocking statement. "Be careful." He said simply and as if on cue, scowled, and walked away from her. Sakura blinked her eyes in disbelief as she slowly made her way back to her apartment.

* * *

Morning came quickly and after briefly going through her morning ritual she snatched up the bag with supplies she had packed the night before. She had already successfully learned everything she could about the place she was visiting, including the general geography and the language of its inhabitants. The brainy kunoichi had also taken the time to memorize the particulars about her target. He was a tan skinned and overweight individual who had a taste for the finer things in life and was found nearly every night at a particularly exclusive night club, which was apparently a place where people drank and danced. The man, Kogoro Daimon, was also a vicious "mob boss" and what she gathered from her research, meant he was in charge of a criminal organization involved in stealing and killing people. Her stomach turned anxiously as she closed her eyes and visualized the particulars. She had been told ever since she was a young girl that the Civilian world lived by a different set of rules than that of the Ninja. Their world had rules and laws as well as people to enforce them, which was very different from her world where families and individuals both protected and avenged themselves.

"Ready to go?" Sakura's eyes opened wide as Anko approached before her. Sakura gave her a quick nod as the world's deadliest woman led her to Konoha's border. "If you move quickly, you should be able to get there in about three days." Anko explained. "You know where you're going?" Sakura nodded vigorously.

"I've memorized the way." Anko grinned and patted the top of her head.

"Good girl." The woman turned to leave when Sakura suddenly gave her a quick bow.

"I promise to make you proud, Black Mamba-sensei." Sakura said with a grin. Anko laughed and flashed her a peace sign.

"I know you will, student of the Hokage. Who knows, maybe when you get back, I'll be offering you my job!" Sakura merely shook her head as she bid her mentor goodbye and turned to face the wilderness beyond the village of the Hidden Leaf that stood before her. She sucked in a breath as the young kunoichi was suddenly bombarded with the pangs of fear.

"What would Naruto do?" Sakura suddenly whispered aloud as she closed her eyes and focused on channeling the attitude of Konoha's most determined ninja. A smirk suddenly flew across her face as she snapped her eyes open and thrust her fist into the air.

"Kogoro Daimon of Egypt," She grinned slyly to herself as the foreign words rolled off her tongue. "You better be ready, because I'm coming to kill you!" She announced boldly as she quickly leapt away and into the unknown.

* * *

**A.N**: So as the chapter title suggests, this is taking place four years later, (Sakura and Naruto are 16 at the point where the series is now and in this fiction they're 20!)

This is essentially AU for both series but REALLY alternate universe for the Yu-gi-oh characters…which will be making their appearance in the **next chapter**!

I slapped an "M" tag on this story since it will include all the goodies of dark adult themes: language, sex, and violence (they're a must in vampire stories, right?)!

I've also taken a lot of inspirations from other things for this story, most obviously from "Naruto" and "Yu-gi-oh!"…but also from "Kill Bill" and "Hellsing."

I'd love to know what you all think!

~Kochou-hime


	2. The Hit

_The Five Femme Fatale_

Kochou-hime

**All characters belong to their respective owners.**

The Hit

Sakura wiped the sweat away from her brow and paused where she was perched upon a tall structure, which her previous research had informed her to be one of the great pyramids of Giza. Shielding her eyes from the scorching sun she focused into the distance and caught the faint sight of the great city along the Nile River, Cairo. Her journey had been a long one; taking up almost the entire three days that Anko had cited for her. The young kunoichi gave a sigh of relief as she reached for the tie of her forehead protector and quickly removed it where it was worn as a headband. Enclosing it into her pack, she gave a quick nod affirming that from here on out, she was a ninja incognito.

"Ha!" She yelled into the air as she leapt from the structure of great feat and on toward the city. After quickly arriving to her destination with ninja speed, she looked on in awe at the tall and sophisticated buildings which were surrounded by throngs of people below.

"Watch it lady!" A man called toward her in the language she had recently learned. He sped quickly by on a bike along the sidewalk. Sakura sighed as she retrieved her map and finally pinpointed the location she was looking for.

Launching herself onto the bed of her prearranged hotel room, she scrolled through the details of her target once again in her head. The sun had long fallen from the sky and she finally decided it was time to prepare for her evening at the night club, which was in a building connected to her hotel.

Sakura slipped on the fitted black dress Anko had chosen for her and had explicitly explained how it ensured a solid deal in attracting a target. She ran a brush through her silken pink hair that she had allowed to grow to a longer length over the years. Her soft angle cut bangs side swept gently across her face as she slid on a pair of black stiletto heels. Gazing into a full length mirror, she had to admit that the ensemble had done wonders for her sex appeal. The dipping neckline of the dress revealed ample cleavage of her breasts that had luckily grown over her teenage years; perhaps another trait she gathered from the incredibly busty Tsunade. She inwardly hoped she would be _sexy_ enough to attract her target with ease, but she always could use a genjutsu if worse came to worse. She groaned at the thought, having to change her appearance to gain the lust of a man would be shameful and a waste of chakra. After the final touches; an emerald ring containing powdered poison and a kunai strapped to the inside of her thigh; she turned to the mirror for a final look.

"Well, I guess you could say that I'm dressed to kill." She remarked sheepishly to herself.

The disguised kunoichi was immediately noticed as she slowly stepped into the hotel's lobby; heels clicking behind her on the marble floor. Both the tan skinned men and women of the room turned to stare at the dazzling young woman crossing their path. Lowering her head upon immediately feeling self conscious, she inwardly worried that her light colored skin stuck out like a sore thumb among those with darker tones. However, upon casting her eyes to a man who immediately leapt across the room to open the door for her, she noticed his flirtatious smile and her inner self cheered. Sakura's seductive trap seemed to be effective thus far, now she could only hope it would attract the one it was set for.

As the disguised kunoichi entered through the exclusive club's front doors she was immediately bombarded with flashing colored lights and blaring music that was only overpowered by the noise of chattering people. Her mouth fell open slightly as her eyes fell across the people who littered the impressive building. Some sat and chatted amongst plush lounge chairs, while others danced or stood at the bar. Panic began to rise within her as she shifted her eyes from person to person. There were literally hundreds of people in this place and with its dimly lit atmosphere; finding her target seemed nearly impossible. She glanced toward the bar and decided to have a drink to calm her nerves and regroup. Quickly turning on her heels, she spun around and slammed directly into the well muscled chest of a man much taller than her five foot two inches.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried instinctively in Japanese as her face filled with an embarrassed flush. Immediately realizing her mistake, she repeated her apology in Egyptian as she lifted her eyes to his face. Sakura's breath caught in the back of her throat as she beheld the man who stood looking down upon her with an irritated expression. His black eyes bore into her, but suddenly, took on expression of interest as he looked at her. The pink haired girl could hardly fathom his attractiveness as she studied his angular shaped pale face which was framed by purely white hair coming to form batwing-like bangs at the front of his face. He said nothing and regarded her only with an enticing smirk that also peculiarly sparked Sakura's instinct to run at the same time. "Uh…" She said once more as she quickly darted away from the man and to the bar. She squeezed into a small opening between two men at the overhang and immediately attracted the bartender's attention.

"What'll it be, beautiful?" He said with a wink.

"Sake, please." She said politely but raising her voice over the noise in the room. The bartender gave a quick nod and turned to only be halted by a male voice.

"Put that on my tab, Aban." The man at Sakura's left proclaimed. She turned her eyes toward the man average in appearance but seemingly wealthy as his hands and wrists were covered in gold and jewels. He sipped his beverage and gave the girl a quick wink.

"Thank you," She said politely.

"An Asian girl I see," He commented with a sly smile. "I must say; if all Eastern girls are as voluptuous as you, I'm moving out there promptly." The man shamelessly passed his eyes over her body with a chuckle. Sakura smiled as she held back the scowl that was raging within her. She routinely would punch Naruto for perverted comments, but he was her friend and this guy was way out of line; if she hadn't been trying to carry out a perfect disguise she would have certainly caved in the man's face with a powerful punch. The bartender placed a small cup of sake on the bar to which the man promptly grabbed. The trained kunoichi watched as the insulting man quickly and stealthily released a white powder into the beverage as he passed it to her. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"While I appreciate the gesture, I prefer only to take beverages that haven't been drugged." She said venomously as she pushed the drink back the bartender. The man appeared stunned and attempted to stutter a response before finally turning and leaving the bar. Sakura glared into his back as he scuttled away when she heard a soft and dark chuckle come from her right that sent a cold chill up her spine.

"Another drink for the lady, sans the illegal pharmaceuticals." The voice commanded regally.

The pink haired kunoichi turned her head to face the man and felt her knees tremble in weakness at what she saw. Her eyes filled with a male of strikingly colored hair, black and crimson tinted with long gold tendrils hiding his eyes and weaving into the dark spikes. His tall figure was eclipsed in black clothing; a high collared jacket that flowed outward at the bottom hem. Just as she had composed herself enough to thank him, he turned to her and further stunned her with his stare. His incredible crimson eyes captured her own, causing the girl to shudder at their intensity. Sakura couldn't help but notice the tight black shirt stretched over the man's chest as his muscles were painfully apparent; deceiving of his initially slim appearance. His obsession with black continued with a leather collar encircling his neck. A wicked smirk graced the captivating man's pale face as he continued to assault her with glittering and blood red eyes.

"You have a keen eye, though it is hardly enough to keep you out of trouble." His alluringly baritone voice rang. "Be careful around here; this side of Cairo is hardly known for being safe." He warned as the bartender set the fresh glass of drug free sake before Sakura.

The young woman struggled to respond to the example of masculine perfection that stood before her. Flashing lights and booming music seemed to further drown her senses as she resembled a deer caught in the headlights of his stare. Suddenly, a specific movement beyond the man caught her attention as her green eyes widened in response. Her target drifted by, surrounded by men dressed in black who cautiously shifted their eyes around the room. Whatever hold the alluring man had over her evaporated as she quickly grabbed the small glass of alcohol and downed it.

"Thank you for the drink." She said finally. "And as for your concern, I assure you, I can take care of myself." He raised an eyebrow as she swiftly turned and disappeared into the crowd. The crimson eyed man watched after where she had retreated into the masses when suddenly another stealthily arrived to block his view.

"What is it Bakura?" He growled with narrowed eyes. "If you wish to socialize go find Marik, I didn't come here to entertain you." He shifted his eyes away from the white haired man in annoyance who now leaned up against the bar.

"Marik left with his catch an hour ago. You know him, he's not picky. Come to think of it," the one named Bakura taunted in the now dead language of Ancient Egypt. "Neither is the oh so noble, Atemu." A scowl took over the irritated man's face as he shifted his hateful red eyes upon the other attractive man.

"You're testing my patience, Tomb Robber." Atemu bit as he resisted a snarl.

"What's wrong with that girl over there?" Bakura asked keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the other man. "You know, the one that's been eye fucking you for the past hour." Both men shifted their stare to a scantily dressed woman who sat amongst a group of other women. Upon noticing their gaze, the woman quickly plucked the bright red cherry from her drink and seductively placed the sugared fruit in her mouth. Atemu shifted his gaze back toward Bakura.

"She'll do fine. Now, since you see it fit to play with your food…find it fast because we have other things to take care of tonight." He said as he turned his crimson eyes once more to the woman and tossed her a smirk that most certainly would have brought her to her knees if she had been standing. Bakura crossed his arms and chuckled lowly.

"Well, I had found a most incredible chase before you interfered." Bakura said playfully as Atemu raised an eyebrow. "The pink haired goddess." He practically purred as the other man visibly stiffened. "She smells just as delicious as she looks." Bakura momentarily flashed his glittering white fangs to Atemu as he released a silent groan. "I'll see you back at the manor, she couldn't have gotten far."

"Bakura." Atemu said darkly just as the man turned to stalk away. "Pick a different one to hunt." He ordered earning a scowl from the white haired man.

"Why?" Atemu grinned; revealing a pair of long and dangerously sharp teeth of his own in the dimly lit night club.

"Because, she's mine." He replied with a wild look in his eyes. Bakura began to protest when Atemu stepped up closer to him. "Back. Off." He growled threateningly as Bakura's eyes flew open wide. He swallowed as the aggressive man's stare bore into him.

"Fine." Bakura said finally. "But do us all a favor, Atemu. Have some fun with her. You've been impossible to deal with for the past few hundred years." Atemu rumbled from the depths of his chest as he pushed past the white haired man and into the crowd.

* * *

Sakura tailed the one named Kogoro Daimon and his gang of body guards to one of the lounge areas. The disgustingly overweight man sat in a plush chair as two scantily clad woman sat upon the armrests. They were laughing at his jokes as the fed the mob boss morsels of food. The ninja sighed as she secretly watched him from the wall she stood against. How the hell was she supposed to gain his attention now? She balled her fists in annoyance as she thought of ways to be noticed. It wouldn't be prudent to just go up and introduce herself to him; it would be suspicious and dishonorable as the best assassins waited for their prey to come to them.

As she continued to watch she noticed one of the waitresses carrying a tray of drinks to the man and body guards. She looked down to the ring on her right hand that secretly contained a tasteless poison. It would be beyond easy to stealthily slip the poison into one of the beverages before the waitress brought it to him. Her heart fell, however, as she watched one of the bodyguards dip a piece of litmus paper into the drink and nod after it turned red as he handed it to Kogoro. She growled, the poison she had would most certainly turn any alcoholic beverage into an alkaline one, which would scare off her target who apparently was already expecting people to try and kill him. With a sigh, she continued to rack her brain when suddenly a couple stumbled off the dance floor and into Sakura's direction.

The male pushed the female against the wall near Sakura and savagely captured her lips with his own. The pink haired kunoichi rolled her eyes in annoyance as she considered moving but in doing that, would begrudgingly lose the ability to watch her target without being noticed. With a sigh, she tried to look away but began to fidget when she could hear moans escaping the girl despite the music and noise that filled the building. Her mind drifted to a different place as she continued to avert her eyes from the lusty couple. It had been along time since she had received any male attention, the last time had been about a year ago, before Sasuke had been returned. She had drunkenly engaged in a heated kissing session with, embarrassingly, Rock Lee at the back of one of Konoha's popular taverns. The awkward boy was surprisingly a good kisser, although somewhat too gentle for the craving that Sakura desired within. The entire time she had guiltily imagined Sasuke pinning her to the wall and ravaging her in a way very similar to the couple beside her now.

Sakura nearly jumped when she heard particularly loud moans now escaping the female of the frisky party to her left. She felt her heart beat faster and a sexual heat spread throughout her body as the male's hand disappeared beneath the girl's skirt to which she responded with euphoric cries of pleasure drowned within the thumping music flying off the dance floor. Taking a deep breath, Sakura, now bothered, stepped away from the wall and into the crowd. As she walked, she ignored the comments and whistles she received from men. She fell dead in her tracks, when the sight of the gorgeous man from the bar stole her attention.

He had removed his jacket, slinging it over his shoulder as he approached her with focused red eyes. Although it had once seemed impossible for him to look anymore attractive, the contours of his sculpted arms and torso, which was now only covered by a fitted black tank, were hypnotizing. The sexual heat flowing through her form pulsed at the sight of him; he stopped just before her and leaned in close to stop just before her ear.

"You left in such a hurry." He purred as Sakura felt as if her throat had dried out completely. "I assume you found what you were looking for?" He asked thickly. Sakura trembled at the feeling of his hot breath against her ear but quickly snapped out of her trance.

"I'm waiting for someone." She stated coldly, raising her voice over the music. He slowly pulled his mouth into a suggestive smirk as he loomed over her. Snapping her green eyes toward his again, Sakura once again felt frozen in a hypnotic state.

This was bad. She had come to this place with full intentions of being irresistible to the one she was sent to murder and now found herself in the merciless trap of an unfathomably attractive distraction. Amidst the crowd of people around them, a large male shoved past Sakura to get through. She held a choice word for him on the tip of her tongue when suddenly a lightening fast arm fell on the rude man's shoulder.

Atemu gripped onto the appendage causing a yelp of pain from the man, who promptly spun around.

"What's the deal asshole?" He bellowed. "Tough guy huh? I'm gonna kick your ass!" The smaller male laughed.

"Apologize." He ordered simply. The offending man chortled, but suddenly his face became blank as Atemu narrowed his shockingly red eyes. He began to shudder uncontrollably as he suddenly turned to Sakura in panic.

"I-I-I'm so…s-sorry!" He stuttered toward her. The pink haired girl opened her mouth in shock at his surprising change in attitude.

"Now, leave." Atemu commanded darkly. The muscle bound man quickly nodded and scampered away leaving an even further shocked Sakura. After watching him leave, the pursuer once again returned his attention to her. "My apologies, now, perhaps I could keep you company until-" he interrupted himself with a very audible growl as a hand fell on Sakura's shoulder. The kunoichi diverted her gaze to the owner of the hand and her eyes went wide.

How fortuitous! One of Kogoro's body guards was talking to her? She sent a side glance in the direction where the man sat and her heart leapt for joy to see his gaze firmly fixed upon her with a smirk on his face.

"Excuse me miss, my superior who just happens to be one of the most influential men in this city, noticed you standing over here and wishes to meet with you." The man explained smoothly. Atemu's eyes nearly glowed in ferocity.

"As you can see, she-"

"Yes, of course." Sakura said sweetly, causing the interrupted to merely stare in shock. The gang member nodded and offered her his arm to which she excitedly accepted. She left without so much as glancing back, and the furious scowl on the face of the rejected went completely unnoticed.

It was quite easy to seduce Kogoro once the man had gotten a closer look at her. It wasn't long before the mob member was suggesting that they take their conversation elsewhere. However, amongst her attempts to charm the man through cheap laughs and conversation, her mind kept drifting back to the mysterious man from earlier. Those alluring red orbs of his had imprinted on the back of her eyelids, as she could see them every time she blinked. She was inwardly angry with herself. That man, no matter how utterly gorgeous he was, should not have been able to distract her as long as he did.

"I was recently gifted a priceless bottle of champagne, I'd love to share it with you if you'd like to join me upstairs." Kogoro suggested huskily, conveniently interrupting her thoughts. Sakura internally cringed at the sweaty pig of a man, but hid it well as she nodded in affirmation.

After arriving to his suite, Kogoro dropped her hand from his sweaty palm and moved to collect the bottle of sparkling beverage. Looking toward her emerald ring, she considered her options. The ninja could probably spike the man's drink without much notice. He was, after all, quite tipsy from the beverages he had previously consumed. However, she suddenly became very aware of the kunai strapped to her thigh and concluded that a fatal wound would be more reliable; although she cringed at the thought of inducing a bloody and violent death. Turning her front away from him, she reached down and began to stealthily reach for her weapon.

"Ah, Naoko." The drunken mob boss slurred her fake given name. "Have I told you enough times how lovely-" Sakura's head snapped up when she heard a soft whirling through the air followed by a sickened gurgling sound. Falling into a defensive stance she shot her eyes toward her target and gasped when she observed a shuriken embedded in his throat. He crumpled to the ground and lay convulsing as he bled out onto the floor. Sakura froze as she shifted her eyes suspiciously around the room looking for the offender; moving her gaze only once to Kogoro who became still upon the bright red stain that now marred the carpet. As if from the very shadows, three ninjas with covered faces appeared in the balcony entrance, clearly displaying cloud village forehead protectors.

"Good evening, leaf ninja." A female voice from one of the nins called out to her. "Our information appears to be quite accurate." She chuckled. Sakura narrowed her eyes and whipped her kunai in front of her defensively.

"State your purpose in confronting a Konoha nin!" She demanded threateningly, only further earning laughs from the two males and female.

"While we have no quarrel with the leafs, we do have a message to send to the nin's elite assassins." The woman said bitterly. "And unfortunately for you, it will require your severed head!" She bellowed and faded for an attack. Sakura moved quickly and attached an exploding note to her kunai; launching it toward her aggressors. After the explosion, she moved swiftly through the cloud of smoke and groaned when an enemy nin slammed into her body. After signaling a quick substitution ninjutsu, she reappeared stealthily against the wall of the suite's bathroom.

She grit her teeth, not daring to breathe as she tried to come up with a solution for the situation. There were three enemy jonin-level ninjas after her and in the area of combat and special technique; Sakura sorely suffered. If she had any chance of survival, she had to escape. Her skin crawled at the sound of a sword becoming unsheathed.

"Come on out leaf kunoichi." The disguised woman sang causing to Sakura to narrow her eyes. Sakura's inner self acknowledged that while lacking compared to some of the other Konoha Jonin; she was no wimp and if she was going down…she'd go down fighting. Calling on her super human strength jutsu, she ripped through the bathroom wall for a surprise attack. One of the male cloud nins fell victim, as she connected an organ shattering punch into his midsection. The man toppled, curling his body as he screamed in earsplitting pain. Sakura made her way for the balcony's exit when suddenly an excruciating burn ran across her back.

"You stupid bitch!" The female cloud nin screamed as she slashed again with her deadly blade across Sakura's side. The young kunoichi's blood splashed to the floor as she crumbled to her knees. The life began to drain from her eyes as she fell from her kneeling position to hit the ground with a soft thud.

"He's critically injured!" The unscathed male bellowed. The female fell to his side as the other male moaned in pain. Standing, she easily lifted him into her arms.

"I'm taking him out of here." She sent Sakura a blazing glare. "Finish her off…_painfully_." She emphasized. The ordered male nodded as she quickly disappeared through the balcony with the injured shinobi.

Sakura's breathing racked painfully as she reached her arm to her body in an attempt to heal herself. After quickly assessing her injuries, she immediately resolved that if she couldn't stop the bleeding soon; she would die. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to concentrate on her chakra when she felt a hand wrap around her neck.

"Its lights out for you, Konoha bitch." The man seethed. Sakura choked as her breathing was cut off and her vision began to blur. The pain around her neck was unexpectedly released as the air rushed back into her tortured lungs. She gasped and barely comprehended the echoing noises in the background. "What the-" the nin's distorted sounding voice demanded when suddenly the ruckus of a scuffle filled the room. An agonizing scream rang toward Sakura's confused ears lasting only a few moments before being followed by a sickening dead thump against the floor. The kunoichi urged her hand back to her chest, pressing against it desperately in an attempt to heal herself. She cried out in agony upon feeling the very last of her chakra drain from her without effectively healing her. She breathed slowly now, as she began to lose the feeling from her extremities. Suddenly, she felt her body lifted from the ground.

Blinking her blurred vision to the face that held her, she assessed its angular structure and immediately thought of the one who had always appeared to save her in the past.

"Ka-ka-kashi-sensei," she weakly called as she felt her body float to the surface of the bed. "Cloud nins…" She coughed. A strange rumble filled her ears as she blinked her vision into focus.

"Ah, not quite little Abi." A baritone voice teased. Realization attacked Sakura's mind as the luscious form of her previous distraction appeared in her cleared line of sight. His scarlet eyes were laughing at her and she felt a jolt of shock through her spine when his wicked grin revealed a pair of exaggerated incisors that shined in the pale moonlight pouring into the room. "I told you." He rumbled as he moved his lithe body to hover over hers. "Not even your impeccable sense of avoiding danger could keep _you _out of trouble." His voice rolled. Sakura's eyes were void of emotion as the vitality of her life slowly poured onto the once pristine sheets of the bed.

She would die here. An immature assassin, ambushed on a mission; most certainly on information offered by a traitor. Never again would she see Naruto's smiling face, or Sasuke's brooding scowl. She had called her best friend Ino-pig for the last time, and would scold Kakashi-sensei for his lateness no more. The pink haired kunoichi bitterly wished for one more moment with Rock Lee, even if it was embarrassing; if only to be kissed again and to know a man's love one last time. If all of this wasn't depressing enough, she would have to die, while some sort of gorgeous monster gloated over her. A purr escaped the red eyed man as he moved his lips along her neck and extended his hot tongue to taste a fresh splatter of blood. He groaned toward the dying girl as he once again looked into her lifeless eyes.

"Tell me." He spoke quietly making no effort to hide his deadly teeth. "Why did you choose the attention of that fat fuck over mine?" Sakura sucked in a struggled breath and narrowed her eyes to the mocking male. Atemu's feral eyes lit up in sheer delight.

"Oh little Abi!" He exclaimed in regal excitement. "Defiant to the very end?" Sakura grit her teeth and turned her face away from him, absolutely refusing to die dishonorably. "I see." The offender spoke silkily and took the opportunity to ghost his hot breath along the female's now exposed neck. "I suppose you're in no condition to answer my inquiry, but I'm afraid I need you to answer one of importance." Sakura turned her head with the last bit of energy her body left to offer her and looked painfully into the hovering man's eyes. He shifted his hand to run long fingers through the lengths of her pink hair, and momentarily, his careless crimson eyes appeared to hold a sliver of emotion. "Do you want to live?" He asked softly. Sakura's vision began fading quickly, the contours of the man's face now turning into shadows. Her bottom lip slowly fell open and she expelled the very last bit of air from her lungs.

"Yes…" She trailed with only a soft whisper as the entirety of Sakura's world disappeared into the darkness.


	3. Obsfucate Reality

_The Five Femme Fatale_

Kochou-hime

**All characters belong to their respective owners.**

Obsfucate Reality

"Really? Atemu found a caitiff while out hunting tonight? That seems strange, he's usually rather not fond of accepting newcomers…" the faint whisper of a voice fluttered; its sound twisted in a surreal unfamiliar vibration.

"That's not what I heard…" A louder voice rose with scratchy echo. "He didn't just find her. He _turned _her." A startled gasp escaped.

"No…surely you're mistaken. I mean, it-it's, _forbidden_."

The spectrum of Earth's colors swirled in a distorted fashion before quickly fading into the black abyss. However, as if to torture Sakura's brain, they returned repeatedly with full force. Bending in impossible ways to successfully give the sensation of spinning midair. Her mind screamed to see shape and form and even as she tried to beg of it aloud, her lips remained firmly shut. The kunoichi's body had seemingly lost contact with the mind's demands. Every tactile sensation was missing, leaving the girl with only a mangled sense of sound and blinding sight. Eternity seemed to pass as Sakura drifted through her sleepless paralysis, when finally a new feeling emerged.

Burning. Fire. It raged through her closed mouth and scratched at her tormented throat. Feeling as if she had swallowed sand, followed by smoldering broken glass; her ragged breaths of the cool air did nothing to calm the fury of what her tongue and throat demanded. Her mind ebbed at her body's desire. What she wouldn't give for a drop of water, or more appropriately an entire lake of the cold substance to drown the emblazoned pain. Sakura begged for it; prayed for a salvation to rain into her mouth. As if some higher power had been listening, she finally felt her muscles obey and snapped her eyes open.

Complete darkness filled her vision as a wave of panic traveled over her lying form. She frantically sat up and released a small yelp when her head contacted with a hard surface and knocked her back down. Hot tears began to wet her face as the pain of her throat and confusion took over her emotions. A feral snarl escaped the pink haired girl's mouth as she drew back her fist and called upon her super strength jutsu. The sound of splintering wood filled her ears as the deadly charged appendage jutted upwards. She stealthily leapt through the destroyed opening and fell to a defensive crouch onto the ground. As her eyes quickly adjusted to the faint light of the room, she groaned upon feeling uncontrollable shakes throughout her form. A swift movement caught her darting eyes and she fell onto her bottom upon spying two other individuals in the room; looking at her in awe.

"Water." She begged from the depths of her dry throat. The shorter of the two suddenly sprang away to the back of the room. Sakura watched wide eyed as she delved into a refrigerator and immediately returned with a long stemmed wine glass containing a dark liquid.

"Drink this." Her voice ordered sweetly.

The kunoichi dared not question its contents as she snatched the glass with molten speed and took its contents into her mouth. Sakura moaned into the precious cup as the cold liquid drowned the flames that raged within her. The drink felt amazing upon her tongue, enveloping her body in a satisfaction she could associate with no other pleasure. Its taste was both sweet and savory, a unique flavor that seemed to satisfy any sort of craving of nutritional pungency. Immediately the glass was empty and Sakura extended her tongue to trace the last drops off the rim of the vessel. A squeak escaped her as she looked pleadingly toward the two women standing before where she was seated on the floor. Her face fell into a pathetic pout, like a young child begging for a second helping at dinner. The shorter woman giggled and promptly handed Sakura another glass, which she once again snatched away and brought to her mouth.

"It's much better warm and fresh, but this will have to do for now!" The cherub like girl spoke followed by a happy-fanged grin. The Konoha nin's eyes immediately caught a flash of the girl's unusual teeth and promptly put down her empty glass.

"We showed up just in time for your debut, Kiddo." The taller woman said, as her shining blond hair glowed in the candlelit room. She winked an amethyst eye toward the kunoichi who merely blinked. Sakura suddenly sprang to her feet with cat-like speed and fell into a defensive stance.

"Wh-who ahr you? Whyere am I?" She demanded but frowned at her inability to pronounce her words correctly. She shifted her lips as it felt like something had been lodged into her mouth. The smaller woman laughed melodically and tossed her light brown hair.

"Don't worry; they take some getting used to." Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"What taykes gettinfg used to? What diyd you do to me?" She demanded. The blond haired woman flashed a deadly grin and pointed to a mirror at the far side of the room with her perfectly manicured finger. Sakura cautiously stepped toward the chasm, all the while tossing guarded glances toward the strangers. Finally allowing her eyes to adjust on the silver surface; a stunned jerk flew throughout her body.

Sakura hardly recognized the beautiful woman in the mirror, but after a few moments finally concluded it to be her. Her skin nearly glowed in the dimly lit room and appeared even paler than usual, if that was even possible. Every imperfection, while few in the past, had disappeared as she studied her flawless face that encased a pair of green eyes that glimmered brilliantly even in darkness. Her mouth fell open and she balked at the sight of her source of current speech impediment. She ran a finger along one of the porcelain projections as the two women floated on either side of where she stood.

"I've gotta say. Atemu may have lost his mind, but he certainly has good taste." The blond woman purred seductively as she leaned in to place a kiss upon the stunned girl's bubble gum colored hair.

"Don't say that Mai! But yes, you are very beautiful. Even more so than you remember before the change?" The girl smiled toward Sakura into the mirror. The kunoichi gave a slight nod and felt her hands be captured by those of the two women.

"Come with us." The one called Mai whispered as the two nearly floated Sakura from the room. They drifted along a dark, candlelit hallway in silence.

"Who'sth Atemu? I've ch-changed?" Sakura stuttered, inwardly cursing her blundered speech. The taller woman chuckled.

"I guess it's safe to assume he didn't explain all this to you before he turned you?" Mai snickered.

"Asking permission for things is not exactly his style." The short brown haired girl laughed. "But then again, neither is siring fledglings." Sakura felt a shiver flutter through her spine at the girl's comment.

"Look kid, there are a lot more details for you to learn but I'll sum it up for you quickly."

The blond haired woman stopped before a pair of double doors and flung them open to reveal a grand and ornate room within. Once the females entered inside, the doors creaked shut and the short girl flew to a closet and began rummaging within. Mai shifted her purple eyes upon Sakura who gulped in response.

"You've been turned into something magnificent. You'll never age or die from natural causes."

Sakura blinked in disbelief as the woman handed her another glass filled with dark red liquid, to which she eagerly drank. She sighed as the smooth tasting drink electrified every inch of her body.

"It really is wonderful, but there's a catch." Mai smirked. "To nourish your body and give you strength to move you must steal the vitality of human life." Sakura stopped drinking as she looked to the woman in confusion. "Their blood will fuel your body." She said seductively.

The pink haired girl's eyes traveled down the glass and she froze in shock upon staring at its contents. Blood? She had been drinking, _blood_? The stem slipped from Sakura's fingers and the vessel went tumbling to the ground before quickly being caught by the tall and busty blond.

"The sooner you accept it; the better off you'll be." The woman said darkly before taking a sip from the glass herself. "You're a vampire now." Sakura felt as if a sheet of ice had covered her skin with a chill taking over her sensations. The short girl had finally emerged from the closet with a violaceous colored dress in hand.

"Think this will fit?" She asked with a fanged smile.

* * *

Sakura sat obediently at an antique vanity in the dark room as the girl who introduced herself as Mana happily brushed her hair.

"I'm so glad the dress fits you! We're so close to the same size, but don't worry; you'll get tons of pretty new clothes soon!" The girl cheered as if Sakura was her own personal dress up doll.

"Where are we going?" Sakura spoke slowly to avoid slurring her speech while staring into the mirror. The purple dress was flattering, both in its shape and color that complimented the young girl's hauntingly green eyes. Its neckline plunged dangerously low, however, to reveal a perfect pair of breasts that appeared much larger than she had last remembered.

"Out." Mana said simply as she stood back to admire her handy work.

"I can't believe you've never heard of vampires before. Where have you been living all your life? Under a rock? It's just as well I suppose, we won't have to unlearn you of all the false truths about our kind." Mai chuckled as she leaned back on an Egyptian style chaise. Sakura's mind traveled briefly back to her memory of Konoha and couldn't help but smile.

"Something like that." She admitted.

The myths and legends of the civilian cities rarely infiltrated ninja villages, but apparently, the story of vampires should have been something more closely paid attention to. The kunoichi fought the urge to sigh as she focused her mind on the Hidden Leaf village. She had most certainly gotten herself stuck in a sticky situation, one in which she must keep the secret of Konoha from the outside world at all costs, even at the forfeit of her own life. Taking a quick moment to scan the room for possible escapes from this surreal reality she froze upon the sound of a dark masculine chuckle that filled the air. A hot breath tickled the back of her neck as a familiar looking white haired man appeared in the mirror; standing behind her.

"My, my. You turned out well." He whispered huskily. Something clicked within Sakura who immediately sprang away from her seat with incredible speed to the far side of the room. A wild snarl ripped through her throat; like a threatened wildcat with her back up to the wall. "Ohhh." The man purred with a smirk. "The pink kitten doesn't want to play nice." He taunted with a dangerous grin. An enraged hiss launched from the pink haired vampire earning yet another laugh from the tormentor, who was promptly slapped upside the head.

"Bakura! You know better than to sneak up on a fledgling like that. It's going to take forever to calm her down now!" Mana pouted as he rubbed the back of his head and scowled in annoyance.

"Besides." Mai spoke sultrily from her lounge. "She did quite a number on her coffin earlier, I'd be careful if I were you." Bakura's irritated stare faded longingly to the woman and he immediately appeared by her side.

"Ah, Mai." He spoke thickly with a smirk. "You know well enough only a select few beings on this _Earth _are a match for me." Sakura's eyes immediately traveled to the large closed doors and obeyed the instinct within that beckoned her to run. Mana's small arms flew around her waist and forced them both to the ground.

"Do you often use the shadows to visit Mana's room? It's awful rude you know. What if she had been changing clothing?" Mai teased steamily, seemingly unnerved by the fledgling's attempted escape. Bakura bared a wicked grin and leaned in closer to the beautiful blond.

"I would be more than delighted to visit your quarters if I were to ever warrant an invitation." He rolled. Mai lifted a suggestive eyebrow before bursting out into a low chuckle; she promptly stood and brushed her hair away as she moved toward the room's exit.

"Only in your dreams, Bakura." She laughed as she left through the now open doorway. Bakura snarled audibly and tossed the struggling Sakura an irritated look before he too disappeared into the dark wall at the end of the room. The pink haired vampire bared her teeth as she continued to flail against her captor.

"Please calm down. I can't let you go now, you'd only hurt yourself!" Mana pleaded. The sound of the girl's soothing voice had a calming effect over her and Sakura sighed as she felt her body relax. "You're awfully powerful for a fledgling! Were you strong as a human?" Sakura responded with a whimper as Mana stroked her hair. "It's alright, don't worry." She cooed.

Before long, a much calmer Sakura was strolling alongside Mana whose babbling was drowning out the paranoia and rolling concerns in the kunoichi's brain.

"…the entirety of our coven lives in the manor. Don't worry; you're very safe and protected here. I'm sure there are others in the lounge; let's go meet them!" Mana said happily as she took a left around one of the winding halls of the giant and mysteriously dark dwelling.

"What's a Coven?" Sakura asked with a blink.

"Well, a Coven is a group of cohabitating vampires, mainly for protection but for social aspects too! The vampires of each particular Coven live under the rules of a leader, who's the strongest, in exchange for protection from other covens who may live by different ideals…" Mana explained. Sakura blinked at the peculiar similarity of the Covens to the Ninja villages.

"Who's the leader?" She asked suddenly and her eyes widened as she gazed upon Mana's telling smirk. "Oh…wonderful." Sakura commented dryly.

"Don't worry, he's out right now but he'll be returning shortly. I'm sure he'll be more than pleased that you're awake." Mana chirped.

A strange feeling of both dread and excitement tingled along Sakura's skin. It hadn't once occurred to her that evening that she would once again encounter the man who exerted almost heavenly attractiveness. Who, ironically, was the most powerful member of a group of immortal man-killers. He, the one who got her into this mess in the first place.

"Why didn't he kill me?" Sakura blurted out suddenly. Mana halted and looked toward the green eyed girl; stunned. "Mai said that vampires need to feed on human blood, why didn't he just do me in like he was supposed to?" Mana gulped and surprised Sakura with a shrug.

"I, honestly, don't know. You'll have to ask him." Was all she said as the two finally entered the lounge area where the eyes of many vampires immediately fell upon the new comers.

* * *

Sakura sat nestled, uncomfortably, in a large arm chair while male vampire with long pink hair happily chatted with her.

"I must say, your lovely pink hair is vunderful, if we had children their hair vould be perfect!" He said in his strange German-sounding accent.

"Uh," Sakura said rubbing the back of her head, "Vampires can have children?" The man laughed.

"No, no. I vas merely making ahnother suggestion." He said with a wink. Sakura promptly turned a colorful shade of red.

"Alright Zigfried, that's enough!" Mana came immediately to Sakura's defense earning a few chuckles from the others.

"Yes, we wouldn't want to frighten the little fledgling." Said a feminine voice from the entryway of the room. Sakura shifted her eyes to observe two stunning women, one with long blond hair and a taller Asian woman with cascading dark locks. The blond immediately narrowed her eyes upon Sakura's inquiry to which the girl immediately averted her stare.

"Rebecca, Vivian." A third voice emerged from the room's atrium. "I thought you two were out for a bite to eat?" Mai's sultry form walked past the two women and perched upon the armrest of Sakura's chair.

"We just returned, and low and behold the little childe is awake." The blond said with a raised eyebrow. A snarl escaped from Mana in response. Mai merely clicked her tongue and stroked Sakura's soft pink hair.

"Careful with the derogatory terminology Rebecca," Mai warned with a smirk. "She is, after all, favored by Atemu, as it was he who turned her." The two women balked.

"You lie! Besides, he prefers me! Are you blind?" Vivian protested. A hiss escaped the companion at her side.

"And why is it then that he ignores you? Clearly, I am the object of his affection!" Rebecca screeched. The two continued to argue as a loud creak of opening doors and subsequent slam filled Sakura's ears.

"He's returned!" The two bickering vampires said in union as they quickly bolted from the room. An even lighter shade of pallor filled Sakura's face as her memory filled once again of the lusus naturae with the haunting red eyes. Panic overtook her form as she squeezed her eyes shut in the hopes that this might all be some unfortunate dream that she could now awake from.

"Good evening, Pharaoh." The voices of both Rebecca and Vivian rang sweetly from the not so distant atrium of the manor. An indignant snarl was all they gained in response.

"Bakura! I was under the impression that you were to meet us. It was hardly as entertaining without you to provoke Weevil." The ominous voice of Atemu barked in amusement. A chuckle followed.

"Well I was on my way to collect Mana as well, however, it seems your little treasure has awakened. I couldn't very well leave her to only Mana to care for in your absence." Bakura smoothed. Only the sound of clicking footsteps against the marble floor followed as they made their way to the parlor to where Sakura had listened to the encounter. The kunoichi felt as if her heart was going to beat out of her chest and felt no comfort when she shifted her eyes to the usually bold Mai that now held only a nervous expression.

"Good evening, Atemu." Mai said softly as she stood from the chair's armrest. Sakura froze as she now gained a clear view of the doorway.

She recognized him immediately, as his shocking and emblazoned red eyes met with hers. The kunoichi's body wanted to cower within the armchair but once again, as she had before the change, became frozen in his stare. His spiky tri-colored hair was weighed down lightly, evident of the region's uncharacteristic rain that had soaked his long black jacket. The gorgeous specimen slowly stalked into the room and tilted his head ever so slightly while he studied the beautiful pink haired fledgling. Suddenly his stone-like face erupted into a devious smirk as he stopped before where she sat.

"Ahhh, little Abi." He purred with a widening smirk earning a giggle from Mana. "Finally awake I see; I hope you slept well?" He outstretched his hand in gesture to which she merely stared at before lifting her eyes back to his.

"No." She said in wonderment. He frowned at first but then chuckled richly as he glided his hands under her palms and led her to stand from the seat. Her legs trembled as if they were made of jelly and she fell into him nearly gasping as she hit his rock solid chest. The powerful vampire's mouth curved into a teasing smile as he snaked an arm around her waist and gently lifted her chin with his free hand.

"You haven't fed yet." He stated instead of asking.

"She had a little, I gave her what I had stored upstairs!" Mana piped in as she fluttered to Atemu's side with a smile. The household master gave her a look of horror as he lifted his upper lip in disgust.

"You fed her stored blood? How revolting." He growled. Mana put her hands on her hips and glared toward him. Sakura blinked in confusion, while still repulsed by the idea of drinking blood, it had tasted quite spectacular.

"Oh it's fine you snob, _and _the poor thing was dying of thirst. What else could I do, hm?" Mana spat. Atemu frowned guiltily and gently sat a stunned and confused Sakura into her chair. He ran a gentle hand through her hair and smirked.

"I'll be back shortly with something far more suitable for you." He reassured.

"No way!" The male vampire growled as he turned back to Mana. "She's more than capable of attaining sustenance on her own and I will escort her!" She protested earning a deepened glare. "Besides, she gave me quite a run for my money when she tried to escape earlier." Atemu turned his laughing eyes to Sakura who narrowed hers in response, feeling all the more brave by the moment.

"The little Abi is defiant you say? Well, I would have never guessed that." He smoothed sarcastically. "Fine, but I'll take her myself."

"Atemu." Said a voice from the doorway. Sakura turned to see a tall man with brown hair and a shorter blond standing beside him. "We really need to discuss Weevil's terms of engagement tonight." Atemu grumbled loudly and ground his teeth in annoyance.

"Or perhaps I'll just slaughter them all…" He grumbled to himself. Sakura's eyes went wide as he smirked at her just before turning back to the doorway. "As you see it fit Seto; I'm sure she'll be under good care?" The house royal averted his eyes to the short brown haired girl.

"What do you think!?" She asked indignantly as Atemu winced. "She'll be much better taught to hunt from a female anyway, since her target is much differently sought then yours." Mana smirked. Atemu snarled at her statement earning only a melodic laugh. "Oh don't worry, we'll behave." She winked.

A few minutes later Mana, Mai, and Sakura were traveling to the manor's exit. A strange feeling overcame the pink haired kunoichi as she turned back into the home's atrium to see her sire's inviting form leaning against the stairwell as he watched them leave. His eyes steadied onto hers and with only a wink he sent a vibrating tremor throughout the girl's overwhelmed body. As Sakura stepped with the three females into the rain she heard a sudden snap and immediately beside them was Bakura with a wide brimmed umbrella. He turned a glittering fanged smile to the kunoichi.

"Don't worry little one, this will be fun." His said almost evilly.

"What are you doing, Bakura?" Mana asked furiously.

"I'll be escorting you three, there's been some suspicious activity from Weevil's clan in the city." He explained.

"Atemu seems to forget that I'm as old as he!" Mana grumbled as she angrily entered the sleek black car that awaited them. Sakura slid into the limo between the two women with Bakura seated lazily across from them. She turned her hunger starved eyes toward the dreary water stained windows and sighed inwardly, allowing herself only to wonder how she would get out of this mess.

* * *

Thanks a bunch to **Kara, rosepuppy, Sakuralover5, ViLaVi, **and** musicmiss18** for the reviews!!! You're feedback is both important to me and motivating for writing more chapters!

I feel like this is moving a little slow…but there will be some definite action in the next chapter!

Please let me know what you think!!!

Thanks for reading!

Kochou-hime


	4. The Diablerie

_The Five Femme Fatale_

Kochou-hime

**All characters belong to their respective owners.**

The Diablerie

The black car rolled quietly along the busy streets of Cairo that once again became enlivened at the peculiar rain's cessation. Sakura said nothing to the other vampires who remained silent themselves, but the gears in her head turned as the drive begun to seem endless. This was possibly her best chance of escape. Three vampires versus a manor full of them, including the proclaimed most powerful monster awaiting her return, was the best opportunity thus far. She looked up briefly from her hands and studied the white haired vampire she had first encountered in this whole ordeal. He sat still and poised; his handsome yet obsessive gaze focused onto the blonde to her right who dully stared out the car's window. Based on her observations, she reevaluated her escape plan. Bakura was certainly one of the most formidable vampires in the household and she ascertained that he was probably sent to watch over the group of females based on that fact. Suddenly, the brown-eyed male focused on Sakura and a wicked smirk played across his amused face. A reactive snarl quickly escaped the vampire youngling and she bared her teeth defensively. Bakura threw his head back in laughter as reality kicked back in for the kunoichi who covered her mouth in a blush.

"It's normal, don't worry, you'll gain better control over your instincts and emotions in a few days!" Mana piped in with a glittering smile that actually appeared good natured even though it was decorated with deadly fangs. The car arrived to a stop and Sakura averted her eyes to the tinted window to her right. She focused on a barely lit building; a modest and low profile pub on the unprivileged side of town. Mai promptly exited as the door was pried open and the rest of them filed out after. A waft of an unfamiliar smell assaulted Sakura's senses and her eyes went wide upon the one who had opened the door.

"Thank you," Mai said handing a stack of bills to the vehicle's operator. "We won't be requiring a ride home tonight." She added sultrily. The man nearly fumbled the banknotes as he earned an intimidating glare from Bakura. Sakura looked toward him longingly as the threatened man backed up under Bakura's scrutiny.

"Yes Miss; thank you Miss!" He quickly bid and ran back to the driver's side of the car and sped off in a hurry. The pink haired vampire felt a hand clasp on to hers and followed behind the two taller creatures of the night as she walked beside Mana. She watched the lighter haired companions give each other a quick glance before Bakura flung open the shanty pub's door. They split up immediately upon entering. Mai took off to her right as Bakura drifted to the other side of the room leaving an open view that halted Sakura in her step.

There weren't many people in the run-down establishment, but each and every one had an individual scent that caused Sakura's throat to run dry. The kunoichi suddenly became very aware of her sharp upper canines and ran her tongue against them as she darted her eyes to each human in the room. While some smelled better than others, each one might as well have been the finest cut of steak available, prepared bloody and rare. She nearly yelped when she felt herself be pulled down into a dimly lit booth.

"Ok," Mana spoke lowly. "Let's chat real quickly." Sakura tried her best to focus on the cherub-like brunette, but found her eyes once again drifting and focused on a table full of men who gawked at the two attractive women. "Naoko!" Mana nearly hissed as Sakura contained a wince upon hearing her fake given name. She let out a sigh and mumbled a few words the kunoichi didn't recognize.

"Can I ask you something?" the girl with cherry blossom hair blurted out suddenly; attempting to ignore her desire for human sustenance. Mana nodded. "Why did-Vivian and Rebecca refer to Atemu as Pharaoh?" She asked curiously. Mana laughed nervously and placed a hand behind her head.

"He actually prefers not to be called that, but you see, Atemu, Bakura and I…well, we've been around for a _long _time." Sakura racked her brain inquisitively.

"I've read all about Egyptian history." The brainy kunoichi explained. "Pharaoh's were ancient Kings of Egypt, which began around 3,000 or so BC." Sakura drummed her fingers on the wooden table. "That would be about 5,000 years ago." Mana laughed again.

"Yeah…that would be about right actually!" Sakura blinked and stared at Mana incredulously. She wet her lips and cleared her throat.

"So, you three are over 5,000 years old, and Atemu was the King of Egypt?" She asked unbelievably.

"Well, Seto is just as old too, but yes. I think your sire would prefer it if he explained this to you himself, though." Mana explained uncomfortably. Sakura scrunched her nose at the term that reminded her of another question.

"He calls me Ah-bee. We never got a chance to exchange acquaintances but why does he call me that?" Mana put a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"It's an ancient Egyptian term of endearment. Abi translates roughly to 'desired one'." Mana grinned widely, showing her sharp teeth to Sakura in the dim-lit room. A pink flush filled Sakura's face.

"Oh," she whispered when a blast of savory smells blew past. The assassin-in-training quickly turned her eyes to the table's opening where a woman wearing a black apron stood. Sakura froze as she stared and listened painfully to the server's heartbeat. Her instincts screamed at her to lunge for the warm liquid treasure within the poor woman, but Sakura held still as she dug her fingers, with vampire strength, into the wooden bench she sat upon.

"Uh," the waitress began nervously as she returned Sakura's stare. "Can I get you ladies something?"

"Two glasses of red wine please!" Mana chirped quickly prompting the server to nod and leave. Sakura stared after her only to be interrupted by the much elder vampire's voice.

"There are a few important things to know." Mana whispered ominously. "Remember when I mentioned that each coven has certain rules?" Sakura attempted to ignore the ever growing pain in her throat as she nodded quickly. "Well Atemu, essentially, only has three." The kunoichi's mind balked at the thought of obeying, gorgeous or not, the vampire's version of a Hokage.

"Don't ever bite a human in public. It's imperative for the Coven's and all vampires' safety that our existence be kept secret." Sakura swallowed and nodded. "Humans aren't allowed in the manor. This rule is bendable, Mai likes to bring people to her quarters often, but if they do come into the home…they don't ever leave." A shiver tingled the new vampiress' spine.

"So every human I bite…dies? I can't just take a little blood?" Sakura suggested nervously. Mana's face took on a grave expression.

"That brings up the most important rule. The other two are more like general guidelines, but this is the only one I've ever seen a vampire…extinguished for." Extinguished. Sakura's mind lulled upon what that term meant for something that was, according to Mai, immortal. "No vampire in Atemu's coven is _ever _permitted to create another vampire. All humans that are extracted are to be disposed of."

"But…he-I" Sakura began in confusion. Mana nodded.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure how he's going to explain you to the others since he's broken his own rule, but, I wouldn't worry about it! You don't know how to turn another vampire anyway so just keep that in the back of your mind." Mana explained and suddenly stood. Sakura looked to her in absolute horror as the girl leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Speak quickly and don't show your teeth. They really don't like that. We'll find you later to help you… clean up." And with only that advice, Mana retreated farther into the depths of the bar.

Sakura felt icy for several minutes after Mana's revelation. She barely nodded at the waitress who set the glass of wine before her; afraid of what might happen if she stared at her for too long. Her mind was an intricate tango of what her next move would be. The kunoichi considered her escape at this moment, now that her "guardians" were most likely distracted with their own devices, but it wasn't long until her body's priority clouded her ulterior plans with the lust for blood.

"Sheesha?" The man who had stealthily approached the base of Sakura's table asked with a sultry smile. He gestured to the tall green stemmed hookah held in his right hand. Instinct took over the kunoichi's body as a coy close-mouthed smile spread across her lips.

"Yes, please." She replied softly as the man eagerly took a seat across from her.

"My name is Khalis." He said with a wide smile and extended his hand to her. Sakura barely noticed his brown eyes and handsome face as she stared at the pulsing carotid along his neck. Her throat screamed at her when the skin of her hand came in contact with his.

"Naoko." She said flirtatiously. The damned man shivered.

"Your hand is so cold! Please, smoke this. It'll warm you up." Khalis grinned and handed the flexible hose to the alluring vampire. Sakura brought the metal piece to her lips and closed her eyes. The hot smoke traveled down her throat, ineffectively providing the vampire with what she truly _had _to have. She released the sweet gray smoke slowly and captured the man's eyes with her own.

"Can we smoke this outside?" She asked urgently earning somewhat of a startled stare from the man. Suddenly his features softened and he gave her a knowing grin.

"I have something you'll like much better." He remarked as he patted his front pocket. "Let's get out of here." The man said with a wink. Sakura's body nearly moved on its own as she stood from her seat and allowed the man's hand to encircle hers. She began plotting as the two made their way to the door.

This wasn't much different than an assassination, was it? She had successfully lured the target to her and was on her way to leading him away from any witnesses. With a short side glance she noticed a table of men cheering raucously upon seeing their companion leaving with her, but shrugged it off as she focused on the bar's exit. The dry air tingled her face as the two traveled out into an alley away from the main street. Sakura quickly scanned the area with her eyes, ears, and nose and affirmed that no other humans were nearby. She shivered when a warm hand came to her face.

"You are so beautiful." The handsome human commented with a smile. "But also so cold. Come back to my place and I'll help you warm up."

This was exactly as any routine assassination would go. She had him right where she needed him, only this time, instead of carrying out her duty with a kunai or poison… The pink haired kunoichi pulled her voluptuous body against the man and before she could sexily respond to his request; realization rained down upon her.

Ninjas and non-shinobi were targeted for assassination always with good reason. Many of them were criminals, in which society required, and was better off, with their extermination. But this man, who called himself Khalis, was just that, a man without a target on his head. She violently pushed the unassuming human away from her and sent him tumbling to the ground. Her body screamed at her to pounce, but she resisted as she took a step back and covered her mouth.

"Get out of here!" She screamed through her hands. Khalis slowly stood up and looked at her in confusion.

"What-" he was cut off by her hysterics

"I said get out of here now!" She screamed on a high pitch. The man quickly bolted away from her.

"Stupid bitch." He muttered under his breath as he retreated. Just as she let loose a mixed sigh of pain and relief a hand flew across her mouth and shoved her into the brick wall behind her.

Sakura screamed into the restraining hand and struggled against her captor as she narrowed her bright green eyes. The man before her had focused and beady black eyes that shone dimly in the dark alley. He wore a red cloth cap over his long brown hair with a few strands of purple colored locks stemming down across his forehead. He pulled back his grin into a sinister smile revealing a pair of gleaming-yellowed fangs.

"Well, well, a baby vampire. It must be my lucky day." The man proclaimed snidely in a teenage sounding vernacular. Sakura narrowed her eyes and called upon the one thing she could think of to get out of such a situation. Recycling the chakra that flowed within her, she gathered it all into her free fist and summoned her super strength jutsu; striking the offending man into his center and sending him flying. She stood defensively in a battle stance ignoring whether or not it was proper for her revealing purple dress.

"What the fuck was that?" The man groaned from where he was crumpled on the ground. Eager to get out of the situation, she quickly moved for a substitution jutsu when suddenly, exhaustion took over her form. The young kunoichi fell back to lean against the brick wall of the building in utter weakness. She cursed herself for not biting Khalis when she had the chance and cringed when she heard a chuckle. Her attacker, a vampire who most likely had feasted upon human blood recently, quickly healed his injury and stood.

"I'm impressed; you can't be much older than a few days. I can smell it." He commented gruffly as he stalked toward where she helplessly supported herself.

"There are others with me." She mustered her most intimidating snarl. The aggressor laughed darkly and met his feral eyes to hers.

"Then I'd better be quick!" With lightening speed he slammed into her and sunk his sharp teeth into the base of the ninja's neck. She felt her already exhausted form collapse and the world quickly went black.

"Naoko!" A voice yelled to her in a strange and twisted echo. The girl groaned, unable to feel anything at all as reality defied any logical design.

"Bite!" Another voice hissed as a flash of light pulsed quickly in and faded just as fast as it had arrived.

"Naoko! Bite down, _right now_!" A masculine voice demanded and Sakura's body complied. She felt distinctly the feel of skin beneath exaggerated canines followed by a distorted masculine scream as she bit down. She felt the liquid satisfaction revitalize every inch of her demanding body and groaned as she felt her muscles relax.

"Sleep." A feminine voice coaxed.

* * *

Special Thanks to: **yuchi1994, ViLaVi, musicmiss18, rosepuppy, thenewanniecresta, Spiral, TeenageCrisis, sakurax9, LadyDream3512, sakuraxdragon, Moruri-chan loves Fuzzy-kun, Viven, **and** Cherry-blossom-101**

So this chapter was looong, so I split it up into two! Expect the next installment in a few days!

Please Read and Review!

~Kochou-hime


	5. The Diablerie II

_The Five Femme Fatale_

Kochou-hime

**All characters belong to their respective owners.**

The Diablerie

What seemed like an eternity later, dim light slowly flitted through her closed eyelids. Her physique remained stiff within tired muscles but she quickly ran her fingers along where she had been bitten and felt nothing but smooth skin. Her other hand that was gripped onto the surface beneath her ran across an unfamiliar and luxurious fabric. The slumbering kunoichi's eyes flew open and focused on the dancing and wavering light that played on the ceiling. Aromas of fire and molten wax brushed past her sensitive nose. With a quiet swallow, she slowly pushed herself upright on her forearms and peaked over a low wall to observe nearly a dozen burning long-stemmed candles in the barely lit room.

"I hope you weren't awoken by the light. You didn't seem to prefer being enclosed when you slept last." A rich and baritone voice sounded calmly at her right. Sakura whipped her head and quickly sat fully upright although her body still felt considerably weak. Her eyes filled of a familiar face. The 5,000 year old once Egyptian King sat behind a large antique desk flanked by candles on either side. An amused smirk graced his strong angular face as the flickering light danced in his focused ruby red eyes.

"Although, it would be slightly more challenging to shatter a sarcophagus fashioned from a ton or two of solid gold," he chuckled; resting his temple upon his forefinger while continuing to survey her. Sakura shifted her eyes to where she had been lying. The bed seemed hardly to be a coffin as it was twice as wide and lined in the finest luxury fabric. Of course his tomb would be one fit for a King. The girl seemingly famous for her defiance snapped her large green eyes back to the teasing vampire.

"I'd manage." She replied with a hard stare. Her keen ninja eyes squinted when the man she had been staring at suddenly vanished in a flicker of candle light.

"Perhaps, little Abi." His rich voice rang now standing at the peculiar bed's opposite side. "Nevertheless, I still am quite attached to this." He crouched down beside the shocked female, with just the short wall of the casket between them. "Though I hardly feel the need to rest anymore," he commented thoughtfully running his powerful fingers along the cool metal edge. An uncontrollable shiver rolled across her skin at the enticing man's closeness, but she bravely scoffed at his terminology.

"That's not my name." She practically spat. He merely flashed an amused and fanged smile before he sat back and revealed a book that he rested upon his raised knee.

"Naoko," he sung her feigned name thoughtfully and flipped the page before him. "Obedient child." He read the words humorously and shot her a side glance with an eyebrow raised. His deadly teeth shone unmistakably as he leaned over the coffin's edge and stopped before her ear. "Abi suits you better." His seductive tone set an inextinguishable fire within her as a familiar heat spread into her extremities. Suddenly, the pleasant feeling was washed over by the memory of her attacker and the kunoichi responded by unconsciously placing a hand protectively against her neck. Atemu leaned back and studied her inquisitively.

"I hardly think _you _should worry about being bitten." He promisingly laughed. "In fact, I pity any human who must face your ferocity." The vampire's eyes left from her face to her figure amusingly. She followed his gaze and her eyes went wide upon spying the blood splatters that marred her skin and the once beautiful fabric.

"How long have I been asleep?" She asked suddenly.

"Since last evening, new vampires usually require sleep during the day. But as one grows older it becomes less of a necessity." He tactfully explained.

"Were you the one who rescued me? How did I get back here?" She put a hand to the side of her head in confusion as she stared toward her sire. He narrowed his eyes.

"I was still away with Seto when the four of you returned. I assumed you came here on your own accord." He stated appearing confused himself. "I would, however, love to know what you required rescuing from." The once Pharaoh grinned. "Did a mere human give you trouble?" Sakura scrunched her nose indignantly.

"No," she explained. "I…I didn't bite anyone. At least I don't think I did. I'm not sure." She said as she averted her eyes and searched her brain. Atemu raised an eyebrow and was interrupted before he could comment further. "It was another vampire. I got him off of me but I guess I ran out of energy." She said thoughtfully. "And then he bit me. That's all I can really remember." A cold chill swept through the young ninja as her eyes met once again with the manor's Master.

A low rumble rolled from the base of the elder vampire's throat and his eyes swelled with a ravenous fury of their own. Sakura immediately regretted conveying her account of the evening as her widened emerald chasms reflected the razor sharp fangs the elder man bared toward her in raw fury. Instantly detecting a change in his aura, that had been so obscure and black that it weighed heavily upon her, she finally sucked in a breath of air when his expression visibly calmed. The pink haired woman commanded her smaller form to halt its trembling as she stared in awe toward the creature who suddenly bared a familiar closed mouth smirk.

"I apologize," Atemu spoke up suddenly, "I must of have misunderstood you, because unless I'm mistaken you just said that another vampire deliberately used his fangs upon_ you_?" He clarified. Sakura's mouth fell open as she studied the stunning man who gazed tranquilly upon her. Lifting an eyebrow, she realized that he seriously wished for her to repeat herself.

"It's important that I clarify. You see, among all the attacks a vampire may launch on another, diablerie, the attempt to drain another vampire of their own blood is absolutely _unforgivable_." The red-eyed man's voice dropped an octave as he focused seriously upon the stunned female. "I'm assuming Bakura destroyed this individual? He knows full and well that any attacks on our coven is an automatic death sentence." Atemu continued, sounding strangely casual as he spoke of the callous destruction of another.

"I-" Sakura spoke in confusion as his piercing eyes were questioningly set upon her. Looking down to her hands her face contorted in confusion. Try as she might, she couldn't remember a single thing that had happened after the horrid diablerist had succeeded in attacking her. What reason did a vampire have for drinking the blood of another of its kind?

"Relax," The once Pharaoh's voice rang smoothly as she felt his long fingers entangle their way into her soft tendrils of hair and massage gently across her scalp. Just barely containing a gasp as she tossed her emerald hues upon him, fire shot through her extremities upon feeling the texture of his lips brush softly against the surface of her cheek.

"Get some rest and regain your strength, little Abi." He ordered in a whisper sounding strangely amused at her reaction to his closeness. "This will all be taken care of by the time you next arise." The attractive male promised as he relinquished his hand and slowly rose to his feet. Within a flicker of candlelight he had suddenly vacated her side and was now standing near the door and grabbing a tailored black coat from its hook on the wall. Sakura couldn't help but stare as he pulled the dark garment over his slim white collared shirt that was casually unbuttoned at his neck revealing a pair of exquisitely formed collar bones and just a glimpse of his muscular chest. A light chuckle knocked her from her trance, and she turned her gaze away from him with a furious blush upon seeing his bemusedly shining eyes catching her attracted stare.

"What are you going to do?" Sakura boldly asked, once again looking toward him as he re-did the buttons on his collar.

"As I explained before," The enigmatic man spoke in baritone, "to ensure swift and immediate punishment has been inflicted on those who attack any member of this house, as is the policy of my coven." His unearthly orbs glimmered in the candlelight as he bared to her a fang filled smile. "Although truthfully I may do much more than that." His tone sounded strangely malicious as he still retained his grin. "Since it was _you_ who was attacked, after all, I feel compelled annihilate them all; massacre the offender's entire coven for daring to impose such a personal threat." Sakura felt her insides tumble as she regarded the man who still managed to look impossibly captivating, though simultaneously consumed with murderous delirium.

"W-why?" The kunoichi turned vampire breathed in disbelief. "How am I different than anyone else here?" His eyes lit up amusedly and Sakura tensed as he approached her once again in a silent descent, with only the sound of his boots treading on the tiled floor.

"Yes, _why_?" He grinned as he reached within the black jacket and revealed a black satchel, glancing at it just before he dropped it into her lap and crouched down to meet her at eye level. "_Why _would I take such a vested interest in destroying those who harm you? In fact, _why_ did I save you in the first place? _Why _are you still alive?" With a tilt of his head he indicated she open the bag to which she abandoned her previous defiance to peculiarly obey. Pulling an object out of the bag her gut wrenched when her eyes fell upon a forehead protector emblazoned with the symbol of the Hidden Cloud Village. The kunoichi's mind reeled backward as she hazily remembered being at the last Cloud nin's mercy the night she was attacked. He had somehow been defeated, and though she hadn't yet considered this, it had now finally dawned upon her. Turning her incredulous eyes upon the other, she realized; Atemu had been the one to kill her enemy.

"I had never seen that symbol before," The five thousand year old vampire mused as Sakura gripped so hard onto the metal that she nearly bent it. "Though I spent quite some time checking every reference I could. I found it peculiar since this same band had been worn by the _other two_." At once she recalled the other two cloud shinobi that had attacked her, and had left her to die in the charge of the other.

"It looks like we have much to talk about, little one." Atemu smiled wickedly upon her as she looked toward him in utter disbelief. "Perhaps this mystery will explain my unwavering fascination with you, and why there was something within me demanding that I follow you, even to the very end of your human life." Sakura's mouth hung open, revealing her juvenile fangs as she hadn't even the willpower to fathom how this man, no, monster, had defeated three incredibly formidable opponents that had brought her to an inch of her life within moments.

"Or perhaps it won't. Either way, I am curious." He stood from his crouch and gave her a quick wink. "Regardless of why these strangely clothed humans were after you, you'd do well to accept that this is your new life now, little Abi, and I can promise you if you give me a little time you'll find it nothing but _pleasant_." Turning once again to the door, the woman falsely known as Naoko stopped him with a sharp intake of breath.

"Did the two others say anything when you fought them?" Sakura demanded as she spoke into his turned back.

"Unfortunately, I have to confess there wasn't much coherent speech exchanged." Atemu spoke, just now turning to look back toward the fledgling. "Just cries of pain and begging for mercy I'm afraid." He spoke with a cruelly brandished smile. "However, your curiosity on the subject isn't all that surprising." The vampire continued mysteriously. Turning his eyes to once again stare at the bag in her lap, Sakura dropped the cloud forehead protectors and realization hit her like a ton of bricks, if he had somehow followed her to Kogoro's room, how much the cloud ninja exchange had he witnessed or worse, _heard_?

Stuffing her hand into the bag she pulled out a handful of familiar appearing affects, and if for just a moment her much quieter vampire heart stopped beating as the appearance of her leaf ninja forehead protector she had left in her hotel room before going after her target that night stung her green irises.

"Peculiar, isn't it?" Atemu taunted as he caught the beautiful woman's horrified gaze. "That was left in an abandoned hotel room, but it's slightly different from the others. I wonder who it could possibly belong to?" He spoke almost mockingly.

"How many of you did it take to defeat them-such powerful opponents?" Sakura practically stuttered in disbelief and cursing herself inwardly for not taking better care of the secret she was to protect.

"How many?" Atemu asked, his visage lighting up in amusement. "Were these humans supposed to be stronger than normal ones?" He grinned when Sakura's face blanched. "If I recall correctly, one was completely incapacitated but the female one, ah yes, now that you mention it I suppose she did seem a little more capable than your garden variety Cairo citizen. But in the end it really didn't matter," The vampire paused to lift a suspicious eyebrow, "as _I_ disposed of them _all_ with very little effort." Sakura planted her hands firmly against the sarcophagus below her in order to keep herself from falling backward in distress to his words. This wasn't possible. As strong as she had witnessed these creatures to be it was beyond implausible that just _one_ of them could take out _three_ jonin level shinobi without even breaking a sweat.

"I really should be going now, though I am incredibly curious as to where exactly you come from little one I have to admit I'm extremely upset by the news you've confided in me. I intend to rectify this immediately." Ever so slowly he leaned down so that his hands gripped on either side of his golden tomb, hovering just above the face of his brand new fledgling who was stunned in denial.

"You can tell me all about it later." He muttered quietly. "I'll be _very much _looking forward to it." And as if he had never been there, he disappeared into nothingness without even a candle flame being disturbed by his exit.

Feeling her body launch into a panic, Sakura quickly stuffed all of the items the other vampire had collected back into the satchel and leapt out of the ornate coffin. Though her current state of dress, a bloodied and revealing deep purple garment, was in no way proper for an escape she had no other choice. Her "sire" had discovered far too much about her shinobi heritage and if she didn't seek out help soon the entirety of ninja world, not just the land of the hidden leaf, could be compromised.

Bounding as quietly as she could outside the room's door, she used her sensitive abilities to confirm there were no others in the hallway and she moved with haste toward the window at the end of the stretch. Forcing the glass pane open she looked down to the ground below that was three stories down. Just as she prepared to jump she felt an overwhelming fatigue envelop her entire body. Though she assessed she hadn't the energy to make it back to the hidden leaf alone, she truly had no other option. If that incredibly beguiling and powerful vampire somehow managed to get any more information out of her she was putting everyone at risk.

Taking off into a run as soon as her feet came in contact silently with the ground, a tizzy of thoughts danced amongst her head. What would the others think? What would they do when they finally discovered the monster she had become?

* * *

Firstly, I would like to thank all of those who reviewed this chapter since it was updated a million years ago:

**Mouri-tan, TeenageCrisis, musicmiss18, Black Spade Angel, naïve-toots, The Vampyric Assassin, Sakura-Hime Uchiha Loves KPOP, Saris Yui, Inner Cookie, kaminariyoru, angel897, Rikutanze, thenewanniecresta, Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967, Sakura Fan 21, crazychery459, **and **Mistra Rose  
**(If I forgot a name I apologize, it was difficult to tell what was from when since this hadn't been updated in so long!)

Ok, so I'll admit that I sort of abandoned story for a variety of reasons. One being that since Naruto is ongoing the little "world" I had set up from them is extremely AU now though it wasn't when I first wrote the story. But most importantly, I really wasn't getting any feedback on it. I'll be honest and say that I update the stories I get the most feedback on first since it really helps directs where my "muse" goes…

So, if you want more, review! If you don't, then, don't I guess? But seriously, I would like to continue this if people out there are willing to read and review!

Thanks!

~Kochou-hime


	6. Not A Monster

_The Five Femme Fatale_

Kochou-hime

**All characters belong to their respective owners.**

Not a Monster

A dissatisfied groan rang with a shallow echo bouncing off the unfinished stone walls containing a large and unfurnished cavern. Bakura's eyes were tightly shut and his purely white brow quivered in irritation as he stood with crossed arms before a disheveled prisoner who sat crumpled and chained to the dungeon's wall. Prying his angered lids open, the vampire's chocolate colored hues glared into the silent man whose punkish brown and lavender hair fell over his eyes as his head hung weakly facing the floor. Biting back his annoyance, a malevolent smile spread across Bakura's lips.

"Now that you're fully regenerated, are you finally ready to talk?" The light-haired vampire grinned. "Or do I need to break _all _of your bones this time?" He added with a deranged snicker. The vampire who _had _revealed his name to be 'Rex" audibly scoffed and lifted his beady eyes to focus on his looming captor. He weakly tugged at his wrist shackles that confined him to the wall, but in his current state, unless he had access to blood soon he would never gather enough strength to break through them.

"I'm not telling you anything pretty boy. You can't keep me down here forever!" Rex grunted whilst baring his unhygienic fangs.

"Well if you're not going to tell me what coven you reside in and why you were prancing around in _our _area then I might as well just finish you off!" Bakura roared threateningly and grit his teeth when Rex responded with a quiet chuckle.

"You can't _kill _me. Not unless you wanted an all-out war with my kindred!" Rex sneered. "And even if you should be victorious, the second word got out of your treachery against us you all would be doomed! Because not even the coven of the famed Pharaohcould out power _all_ of the other vampires on this Earth!" Before a retort could slide past Bakura's lips another shadow, dancing amongst flames dimly lighting the room appeared alongside the interrogator's.

"I find your words to be a rather crude assessment. Though such a feat has obviously not _yet _been tested it wouldn't be wise to discount those whose abilities you know nothing about so ignorantly." The newcomer's baritone voice rang evenly. Freezing in his stance, Bakura swallowed and slowly shifted his attention to the man who had appeared at his side. Atemu returned the favor, capturing the slightly taller man's face within his calculative gaze.

"Atemu," Bakura began sounding somewhat nervous through pursed lips, "listen-"

"Oh, Bakura, my favorite thief," The deceivingly slim man interrupted, "How _are _you this fine evening?"

"Well-" He responded but before the words had finished escaping into the air they were lost within the roar of shattering stone as the tomb robber's body had been forcefully relocated into a brand new hole within the once undamaged wall. Atemu stood with closed eyes, his fist held up hanging languidly, as he had sent the other vampire crumbling into the stone with a flick of his wrist so quickly that the movement couldn't have been caught by eyesight alone.

"Wonderful," Atemu spoke aloud as he focused his cool and unforgiving gaze upon the vampire whose chains began to rattle in response to the man's uncontrollable quaking. With effortless movement the house's powerful leader came down on the prisoner's shin with enough force to crush the appendage beneath his boot. Grabbing onto the howling man's collar, Atemu shoved his snarling face a threatening few inches from his. Any cool façade the Egyptian had been harboring vanished as his red irises were ablaze in a fiery hatred, completely incensed with the man trapped below whose own chasms constricted in pure and unadulterated terror.

"Who the _fuck _are you?" Atemu demanded gutturally.

"R-r," The damned man stumbled over his words, "M-my name is Rex. I'm W-weevil's second within his coven." A small laugh from the left side of the room momentarily caught Atemu's heated gaze. The lithe figures of Seto and Marik leaned against the wall near one of the lighted torches, their silence being broken for the first time in several hours.

"To think you've been torturing this man for almost a full day now, Bakura, and Atemu here has him spilling his guts in a matter of seconds. You've really lost your touch." Seto spoke mockingly. Grumbling as he climbed from the wall that the manor's master had most unceremoniously put him in, Bakura staggered to stand upright. He snarled when the vampire who was once High Priest to the Pharaoh of Egypt didn't bother to open his relaxed and closed eyelids to greet him.

"Shut the fuck up!" Bakura roared cupping hand over his injured eye socket, where a deep purple bruise was quickly fading as it healed.

"I haven't spilled anyone's guts, _yet_," Atemu commented threateningly, stepping away from the trembling man who now had streams of tears flooding down his cheeks. "You should be currently worrying about your own, unless you have a spectacular explanation as to why you chose not to inform me of these happenings earlier." He growled. Though the fair-haired Marik stiffened in worry to the other vampire's threat, Seto merely opened his icy and cobalt hued eyes.

"I don't know why you're so upset about this. Bakura was just interrogating a vampire who trespassed into our territory just as you've instructed all of us to do in the past. He may be doing a terrible job but did that really warrant using him to damage the manor's otherwise pristine dungeon?" He questioned with a voice heavily laden in sarcasm. Narrowing his eyes, Atemu tossed Bakura a glance that demanded an explanation. The tomb robber grumbled under his breath.

"Well, since I figured you'd be pissed off regardless with how I handled the incident I decided to deal with this in my own way." He begrudgingly explained. "Once I confirmed my suspicions given the rumors surrounding the _activities _Weevil had been encouraging of his clan I fully intended on delivering you the offender."

"So it's true then?" Atemu snarled. "The road to hell _is_ paved with good intentions. Well, I'm afraid it's too little effort, and too late, Tomb Robber," He continued venomously, appearing to be contemplating violence once again as the other's explanation seemed to only further encourage his fury.

"And what would you have done?" Bakura quipped, fearlessly meeting the other's fiery gaze, "If I had waltzed into the manor with your precious little fledgling draped in my arms dawning two absolutely _vicious _bite marks on that perfect neck of hers, hm?" The room fell absolutely silent for a moment, completely devoid of movement or breath allowing time for the powerful imagery to settle into the minds of all who'd heard it. Tearing his back away from the wall, Seto stepped forward to look upon Bakura with gigantic eyes.

"Bakura, are you saying this vampire is a diablerist?" He demanded roughly, "If so, why isn't he _dead_?" But Seto's question went unanswered. Bakura kept his silent visage religiously focused on the one his words were intended to provoke. Like glossy red marbles reflecting feverish flicks of firelight, Atemu's eyes were the only part of the man that spoke amidst his otherwise unreadable expression. The tempest swirling within his murky irises blared their forthcoming wrath as if they had a voice of their own.

"Why Bakura," Atemu responded with a chilly smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. "What's the point in asking questions that you already know the answer to?" Just as Bakura mirrored the other's simper, a shallow cough interrupted the two's silent conversation.

"W-wait," Marik piped up as he fell to Seto's side. "Bakura's foresight is a good thing. We've spent all this time investigating Weevil's clan since they moved to this area for their suspicious activity and now we have this offender as evidence to take to the noble's council."

"Y-yes!" Rex suddenly interjected with a spark of hope riding in his voice. "Weevil has been attracting rogues over the past few centuries, especially weak ones: runaways and abandoned fledglings as primary targets. His thirst for power is insatiable, which is why he has ordered all of us to attack lone vampires and take their blood so that he may achieve this faster. I beg of you to spare me, if you do I will attest to this and defend any actions you choose to take against him to the council." Atemu and Bakura shared matching and ever-widening grins as if they found something within the man's plea incredibly amusing.

"What a tantalizing revelation," Seto commented, chuckling to himself and barely holding back a fanged grin of his own. "Do you agree, Atemu?"

"Indeed," he answered whilst turning to meet the tall man's gaze. "Take Marik and Rafeal with you to pay Weevil's house a little visit. Dispose of them all as you please, but ensure Weevil is at least in the condition to hold a coherent conversation. I do plan on meeting you there as soon as time permits."

"Pardon my intrusion," Marik began nervously and flinched when Atemu's gaze narrowed upon him. "But wouldn't it be best to obtain the council's permission before taking action against an _entire _coven without proven warrant?"

"Marik," Seto spoke stiffly as he looked down upon the other in disapproval. "Is there something about Atemu's order that wasn't clear?"

"N-no," he answered with widened eyes.

"Then go collect Rafeal." The towering vampire snarled.

"Yes Seto, I will at once." Marik spoke quickly and hurriedly made way to the dungeon's stairwell. Seto then turned his enlivened cobalt gaze back upon the man he once called Pharaoh and greeted him with a shadowy smile.

"I must admit Atemu; I am surprised." Seto began in a tone that sounded disturbingly merry. "I never thought I'd see the day where you would care enough to declare war on this new and peculiar world, but if you are still entertaining my advisement as you used to so long ago: I would tell you that it's long overdue." He said just before evaporating into the shadows without waiting for a response. Shifting in his stance as if he planned to disappear similarly, Bakura was halted by a tanned hand that latched with lightning speed onto the lapel of his long black trench.

"I don't recall permitting you to leave. I'm not done with you yet, Bakura," Atemu's voice rolled in amusement. Muttering under his breath, the fair-haired man stood dutifully before the other even though he relinquished the hold he had on him.

"Isn't it astounding how things change over the centuries? You and I are barely recognizable. It's hard to believe that once upon a time I wanted you dead as thoroughly as you wished the same of me."

"An association we long ago credited to a very disastrous misunderstanding." Bakura pointed out through pursed lips.

"Perhaps," Atemu responded with a slow grin. "But I still can't help but muse about such anomalies. What _is_ it about this captivating fledgling of mine that has set my blood a boil for the first time in a few millennia? I can't decide if it's the fact I can think of little else than exploring the depths of that marvelous mouth of hers; the birth place to such bold and fearless words. Or perhaps it's the truth behind her tantalizing secret that's apparently one so important that she desperately escaped from a window, of all ridiculous things, in an effort to run away." Bakura's eyes widened.

"She escaped? In her condition she should barely be able to walk!" The brown-eyed man roared in disbelief. Atemu's gaze narrowed.

"You're going to help me figure this out, Bakura, by doing what you should have done in the first place." He commanded in a low growl. "Follow her. Make sure she gets to wherever she's trying to under your protection and don't return until you've succeeded."

"I could bring her back here much more easily _and _extract the information you're dying to know from her if you so desire." Bakura hissed.

"That's not what I've instructed of you," The manor's master reminded, "Though I realize you've never before sired another you should still recall the strength of the bond maintained between both vampires. There's nowhere on this Earth she can hide; no cave or remote dwelling can stop me from finding her when I decide to. Do as I've ordered you. I will go to claim what I've made to be mine when the time is right." He explained with a devious smile.

"She doesn't know yet to avoid being outdoors during the daytime. Do you really expect me to track her beneath Ra's blessed rays?" The irritated Egyptian sarcastically seethed. Atemu merely grinned.

"Perhaps that's something you should have considered when instead of protecting her you focused your attentions on the current state of Mai's-"

"God damn it!" Bakura drowned out the other's obscene commentary with a thunderous bellow as he stormed away.

"One more thing Bakura," Atemu's voice halted his angered descent toward the stairwell. "Consider your error in letting this incident occur settled with your time spent in the wall, but if you fuck this up," the vampire paused with a dangerous glint flickering within his irises as he caught the other's gaze. "I won't forgive you." After Bakura's prompt departure, Atemu breathed a sigh.

"Now that that's taken care of, whatever should I do with _you_?" The powerful vampire voiced aloud, not bothering to turn around and face the man bound by chains to the wall.

"You have every right to destroy Weevil and his clan! He forced all of our hands." Rex spurted his words nervously, in a blatant effort to earn the vampire's clemency. "I'll defend you to the council! I'll tell them whatever you wish me to!" He hysterically promised. After a few terrifying moments of silence, Atemu broke it with a throaty laugh.

"Times long before this one used to be much simpler. There were no people claiming to be the voice of law. Only the commands of the sacred Gods were to be heeded and obeyed and to one man was this task entrusted." Atemu's voice rolled within the confines of the cavern. "No councils or self-serving nobles held such power. Only _one _man was appointed the position of judge, jury-" pausing in his words, Egypt's only surviving Pharaoh finally turned his gaze upon his enemy.

"And _executioner_."

In a sudden flash of movement, Atemu had Rex's neck gripped painfully between the vice of his mighty fingers. Having lost any last semblance of deceitful humanity, his eyes glowed like bright yellow beacons as he focused his pupiless and pain-lusting chasms upon the helpless victim. Rex's black eyes widened when Atemu bared his starved grin where daggered rows of teeth replaced the fangs that had once decorated his otherwise normal smile. Letting loose a few frenzied laughs, the monster masquerading as a man probed his hostage's ear with a darting flick of his long tongue; reptilian in its forked shape at the end. Rex screamed fruitlessly as the muffled sound remained trapped within his constricted throat.

"Surely in the time you've spent here you had learned of them: the Gods the people of this land obey." Atemu asserted in an unfamiliar tone. It barely resembled a human's in its low depth and vibrating snarl.

"Wicked souls unworthy of meeting Osiris and his promised immortality were shredded and fed to his monster: meeting a second and final death with accompanying pain that could be compared to no other." He continued brandishing his ever-growing predatory smile. "Even if you appreciate the ecstasy in savoring a powerful being's blood, you could never fathom the exhilarating taste in devouring its _soul_." Tortured screams filled every crevice of the manor's dungeon as a colossal winged creature cast its shadow against the dimly lit and blood stained surface of the wall.

* * *

"Bakura, what's going on?" A voice questioned as the vibrations of what seemed to be mangled screams and a hungry beast's roars echoed into the main floor of the esteemed manor. Brushing passed the inquirer, one of the coven's most formidable members stormed hastily to the front door without giving any explanation. His eyes narrowed in contempt when two figures suddenly zipped before the doorway.

"Bakura," Mana hissed as she grabbed onto his black clothed arm.

"Is everything alright? You said you were taking care of this." Mai voiced worriedly. Fear filled her amethyst hues as she looked desperately into his shaggy white bangs.

"Any fault from last night is my own," Bakura spoke darkly not looking toward either of them as he ripped the door open. "Go to your rooms for the remainder of the night and don't leave them until sunset tomorrow." The platinum haired man instructed as he shrugged off Mana's hold and stepped through the door.

"Why?" The short vampiress demanded hotly. "I don't take orders from you!" Mana growled in annoyance. Pausing in his steps, Bakura turned to her and narrowed his eyes.

"Because Atemu has finally lost his _fucking_ mind!" He roared just before disappearing into the night. Angrily slamming the door behind him, Mana visibly seethed with anger as she glared into the defenseless wood.

"Mana, what's going to happen?" Mai asked, appearing abnormally unsettled as she trembled in terror upon the foretold ferocity of her coven's infamous leader.

"Oh stop it, Mai." Mana grumbled dismissively with a wave of her hand. "I'd like to see him come scream at _me_. I'll knock his Pharaonic ass into next week!" The tiny but powerful woman roared as she gripped onto the younger vampire's wrist and forcefully dragged her into trudging behind her. "Come on to my room, manis and pedis for the both of us and you're going to calm down and enjoy it!"

* * *

"N-no," Sakura whimpered softly as she twisted her torso within the white sheets that covered her. "It's all too bright!" She cried just prior to flashing her emerald eyes open to the surrounding world. Her ragged breaths calmed as she inwardly thanked a higher power that there was no traces of the horribly hot and bright sun to be seen.

"Sakura, how do you feel?" A gentle and soothingly familiar voice graced her ears.

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" She practically wailed as she sat up excitedly from where her long strands of pink hair splayed across the ivory pillows. Though her vision was still blurry she felt her heart swell with happiness. All of this had been just a terrible dream. She must have become injured when trying to assassinate Kogoro, or perhaps she had passed out from the heat of her journey to Egypt and invented the rest of it in her dreams. Kakashi, her sensei and the Leaf's honorable Hokage had rescued her! For the moment she cared not to dwell upon the failure of her mission, but instead relished in joy that the events she had dreamt to happen did not.

When her dizzied gaze finally focused she was overwhelmed with confusion upon noticing dark curtains blocking each and every window within her hospital room. Turning her confounded attention beyond the foot of her bed she made out the form of three figures shrouded in the pale light of lanterns. Each one pulsed with a unique heartbeat that rang in her ears, and a tantalizing smell that teased her nose. Planting her palms into the surface of her mattress, she revealed her fangs in a hungry snarl but before she even made the decision to pounce the middle figure rose from his seat and caught her attention.

"Here," The even voice rang as he stepped into the light and tossed a small object toward her. Focusing her eyes on the lean figure her mouth fell open upon recognizing the contours of a face she had obsessed over for as long as she could remember. Sasuke's coal and emotionless eyes bore into her as the pliable object fell into her lap. Upon a savory smell attacking her nose, she cast her eyes down to the bag of blood and tore into it without a second thought. Consuming it quickly, she cared not if the display was disgusting as the cool substance rained with the utmost satisfaction down her demanding throat. Pulling the plastic away from her lips she blinked as she looked upon the calm gazes of Kakashi, Sasuke, and Anko at the bed's end.

* * *

After a very detailed description of the events that had occurred on her journey to Egypt, minus the explanation of Sakura's extreme attraction to the vampire who had brought her to this current condition, everyone contemplated in silence as they hovered at her bedside. With the exception of Sasuke, whose silent gaze watched her with interest from where he stood leaning against the room's back wall.

"Can you think of any reason why Cloud Shinobi would have a quarrel with the Assassin's league?" The Hokage directed toward Anko as he directed his lazy uncovered eye toward her from beneath his formal white and red headpiece.

"Not a one, Hokage," The Black Mamba answered as she gazed thoughtfully toward the floor. Hopping down from where he perched next to Anko on the windowsill, the soft fabric of his robes brushed against Sakura's arms as he circled her bed, coming to a stop at her other side.

"Well, since Sakura and the rest of the training assassins are safe there's no need to worry about it too heavily at the moment. I'll send a few genins out in order to gather as much information as we can." He said still speaking toward Anko. Turning his lackadaisical dark eye upon her, Sakura immediately cringed. What was he going to do with her? Surely he couldn't allow a fanged and blood-thirsty creature to comb their village looking for victims, especially when there are children around!

"It's good to see you well, Sakura," The Hokage spoke placidly, "Anko has news for you as well as special instructions. I'm already ten minutes late for a meeting otherwise I'd stay longer to visit with you." Looking dumbfounded upon him, her green eyes opened wide in astonishment when he reached out and patted the top of her head gently with his open palm. "Excellent work Sakura," he spoke with the strange way he smiled with one eye despite his covered face. The pink haired kunoichi was absolutely speechless as she watched him move toward the door.

That was it? _Nice job, Sakura_. Way to get yourself almost killed, except turned into a creepy monster instead! _Great work_, you almost revealed centuries' worth of ancient secrets to an even scarier and more powerful creature! As soon as he exited the door, a fast traveling person burst past the barrier and crashed onto her bed so forcefully that the wooden legs elevating it nearly fell to pieces.

"Sakura!" Naruto cried out as he grabbed her shoulders and brought her to him from where he kneeled beside her on the bed. "You're alright!" He demanded loudly just before crushing her body into his for a relieved hug. Pulling away from the stunned girl he immediately grabbed onto her face and forced her upper lip open. Sakura protested with unintelligible words but Naruto only squinted his eyes in scrutiny.

"Hey, you do have fangs! Ha-Ha!" A large whap resounded throughout the room and Naruto groaned as he rolled off the bed. Holding his fist before him, Sasuke sneered down to the energetic blonde as he slowly came to his feet.

"You idiot! I told you not to get near her right away." The once defected ninja growled. Reaching into a small refrigeration unit behind him, Sasuke produced another bag of blood and tossed it to her.

"You better drink that," The dark-eyed man who once held all of her attracted feelings ordered with a small frown tugging at his features. "Just in case." Nodding profusely, Sakura immediately started consuming the parcel's contents, not daring to look up and see if anyone was grossed out by it. As soon as she finished, she wearily tossed her green eyes to Sasuke and looked upon his cool and unreadable gaze. As if nothing had changed, he still didn't trust her, only this time he had a good reason to.

"Alright you two clowns." Anko's voice caught their attention as she turned her cloudy and mauve eyes upon them. "I need to have a chat with Sakura alone so the two of you should leave and not come back for another half hour or so."

"I just freakin' got here!" Naruto grumbled boisterously.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea, Anko?" Sasuke also spoke up with narrowed eyes upon her.

"Look, I just watched Naruto stuff his fingers into her mouth and nothing bad happened. I think I can handle this. Take a clue and beat it." She grumbled and waved her hand dismissively to the door. Both men sighing in defeat, Naruto looked up hopefully and placed a comforting hand upon Sakura's, which was currently gripping onto the sheets below.

"We'll be back to visit in a little while. I'm glad you're ok, Sakura." Naruto greeted with a warm smile as he retrieved the appendage and made way to the door. Pausing behind him, Sasuke turned to look at her only this time an electrified spark glimmered within his nearly black orbs. He gave her a small half smile that immediately sent her pale face into a blush before he too turned to exit the room.

"Yes, as am I." He replied softly and shut the door behind him. She watched the closed door in disbelief. Had Sasuke just been _nice_ to her? In fact if she didn't know any better it almost seemed like he was _flirting_ if only just slightly.

"Seems like you had quite the little adventure, didn't ya?" The fishnet-wearing enthusiast asked playfully as she took a gentle seat beside Sakura on the hospital cot.

"Unfortunately," Sakura answered dryly as she lifted her forlorn greens to meet the other's gaze. "How did I get back here?" She quietly inquired.

"As soon as we got word with the manner that Kogoro was killed and the fact there was a second body in the room we got concerned." Anko explained. "Kakashi ordered Team 7, with Sai in your place, to go looking for you. Sasuke was the one who found you asleep in an alley and brought you back here, so you owe him an extra big thank you."

Sakura blushed profusely upon the woman's telling. _Sasuke _had been the one to save her? The same traitorous shinobi who had refused to return her professed love and had even tried to kill her a few times? What kind of alternate universe had she been dumped in?

"In fact, Sasuke has been the biggest help out of anyone. He seems to know a lot about the type of person you've now been turned into and his explanations allowed for us to treat you accordingly." Anko continued now regaining the flustered woman's attention. "Vampires are sensitive to sunlight. It greatly reduces your eyesight and will make you feel significantly weaker so you need to be prepared for that. He also informed us that you'll only be consuming blood from now on so we've already arranged a steady supply of the medical grade to be delivered on an every other day basis to your apartment, once you're feeling ready to leave the hospital of course."

"Anko," Sakura whispered as she caught the woman's interested gaze. "How can this work?" The overwhelmed kunoichi whispered distraughtly. "There's no way anyone can trust me again. I'm a-a _monster_." She barely got the word out before catching an uncharacteristic soft smile dawned upon her from the respected head of the Five Femme Fatale.

"Well you're going to have to be careful about the people you tell about this. Keep it between us and close friends. You wouldn't want the village to freak out," Anko answered, "And you're not a monster. So you're a bit photosensitive and you drink blood? I've seen enough in my time to know that there are a lot of people out there who are a lot worse off than you. You're going to have to learn to control your urges though. Take it from a person like myself who knows a thing or two about blood lust, it's going to take some time." Anko reassured to the vampire who was positively shocked silent.

"Re-lax," the dark haired woman waved her hand simultaneously with the syllables. Grinning widely she cupped her hand near Sakura's astounded ear as if she had some great secret to tell her.

"Besides, with the new profession you're being assigned if you wanna take a bit of blood from the people you'll be assigned to kill; I won't tell." She whispered. Gaping in surprise, Sakura pulled away from her hand with eyes as wide as saucers. Anko responded with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself, aren't I?" Standing from her seat upon the bed, Anko twirled around and pulled a pocket-sized and leather trimmed badge from an inner pocket within her beige jacket.

"Sakura Haruno!" She announced with exuberance. "Upon completing the required training to join the exclusive league of the shinobi world's assassins, I now present you with your official certification!" Refusing to accept the object being held out to her, Sakura's eyes welled with distress.

"I don't deserve this," She spoke hopelessly. "I didn't actually kill Kogoro myself; in fact, I almost got _killed_. And if that wasn't bad enough, I almost compromised _everything_ our village and hidden world stands for."

"Not the way I see it," Anko quickly interrupted the young vampire's self-depreciating speech. "Your mission was to kill Kogoro and not get caught doing it, that was it. Kogoro is dead, and look at you! You didn't get caught, did you?" After a few moments of being unable to answer the woman's point, Sakura slowly accepted the token and held it on her lap.

"Your official rank is on the inside." Anko explained as she pointed to the smooth and black leather casing.

"I can't believe this is happening. Or that any of this had happened at all." The breathtakingly lovely ninja muttered as she slid her finger along the object's edge. Her newest mentor only smiled as the younger woman opened it like a small book, revealing an engraved metal plate within. Expecting to see a number, as all the association's assassins were assigned other than the elite five, Sakura squinted her bright green eyes upon the characters.

"Oh yeah, there was one other thing Sasuke did mention to me." Anko spoke quietly as the other kunoichi's brain wrapped around the unbelievable words.

_Black._

"He said with this new form and abilities of yours, that you'd be a tough kunoichi to beat."

_Mamba._

"So tough, that you may be able to take on me and the other four elite…and _win_." The vampire's mouth hung open in its speechlessness, and before she could protest Anko paid to her a confident and proud smile.

"This is a pretty big responsibility, Sakura. And you may have to endure a little bit of testiness from the other four. But I believe in ya, kid. Besides, didn't I warn you to be ready to take my job when you get back?" The former Black Mamba pointed out with a grin.

"A-anko, I can't-" Sakura began, but stopped when the elder shook her head.

"Just rest for now alright? I'll fill you in on the details a little later. I'm going to get out of here for now. Those two knuckleheads will be coming back soon, along with some of your other friends who want to see you."

"Thank you, Anko," Sakura responded softly, too deep in thought to notice when the other finally exited the room. Turning her bright green eyes back upon the badge in utter disbelief, she reached to rub her thumb against one of her brand new fangs to ensure once and for all that this was real. Very _real_.

Letting her back fall exhaustively to the mattress, she rested her head amongst the fluffy pillows as she stared at the ceiling. How was this truly happening? It seemed absolutely unfathomable that she actually had made it home, with Sasuke's assistance of all things, not even to mention everything else that had happened afterwards. In the midst of her first silent moment in hours, it was no surprise that the memory of intense and soul piercing crimson colored eyes belonging to an equally stunning man surfaced in her thoughts.

If he had allowed her to get this far away, perhaps the vampire called Atemu truly wasn't as interested in her as he had falsely revealed to being. Though she felt immediate relief upon thinking this, at the same time, a tiny part of her twinged with a peculiar sense of longing and hollow regret. Holding the precious badge between her fingers, she let her eyes close momentarily and her thoughts drift into a shallow meditation. She truly didn't know if she ever wanted to see that man again.

* * *

First and Foremost thank you to: **naïve-toots, TheVampyricAssassin, LadyDream3512, angel897, Sakura Waldorf, thenewanniecresta, Shadow, Rawrgoesdadino, kaminariyoru, Kata69, Spiral Into Darkness, wn123, darkladywolf, kata, **and **pheonix42 **for inspiring me to moving this story into my "regularly" updated stories!

So, I wanted to a bit of an extended author's note. I typically don't but since there's a part of me that feels like I'm flying by the seat of my pants with this story I'm going to! I usually have my stories perfectly planned out from beginning to end but it's not the case with this one so just a heads up, your comments are probably heavily inspiring this story more than they would normally for one I had already made my mind about.

Concern one…I kind of want to make this story "Mature" themed (so, rated "M"). I'm kind of feeling it because when you take assassins, vampires, ninjas, ancient culture, monsters (not to mention vampire ninja assassins AND Egyptian vampire monsters) it seems like sexual situations beyond your normal innuendo are bound to happen. If anyone would be opposed to this let me know…anything overtly "lemon-y" I would mark with a warning.

So…Atemu is pretty creepy huh? XD. If any of you are Egyptian/Yu-gi-oh enthusiasts you probably have realized I'm taking some pretty liberal interpretations on how some of the vampires are able to manifest their "Ka" (I consider the 3 god monsters to be Atemu's 3 "Ka" since Pharaoh's were told to have multiple ones. Not Black Luster Soldier, which is cool, just not cool for this story.) And that story Atemu told to Rex isn't perfectly accurate to the Egyptian myth, he was being somewhat cheeky with the current situation so please don't yell at me about inaccuracies!

Ok, that's my explanations! Please review! They're inspiring me more than normal so they're extra extra important! Some of you may be disappointed there was no Sakura/Atemu interaction here…but if you gathered the hints from this chapter…well…that might change in the next chapter, eh? ;)

Thank you, **please read and review**!

Kochou-hime


	7. Black Mamba

_The Five Femme Fatale_

El3v3n

**All characters belong to their respective owners.**

Black Mamba

A breeze swept through the town that had long been asleep and cradled by darkness. The sound of footsteps echoed quietly against the run-down buildings until one of the sets of traveling feet paused.

"That should be far enough," A voice erupted gruffly, it's bearer a tall and hulking shinobi who could barely maintain his footing because of his drunkenness. "It was awful nice of you to walk me from the bar. Now we can have a more private _discussion_." He grinned and dug his grimy fingers into the soft kimono draped across the woman's shoulder. "Maybe we should just get straight to business, _how much_?"

Briefly narrowing her ever-cloudy eyes, Ino closed them and tossed her head to one side thoughtfully.

"How much ya got?" She countered. With only a laugh as a warning, the man's hands were around her waist and yanking her slender body against his.

"Oh, I don't know," he grinned maniacally, "how much did they pay you? To send you here… to _kill me_?" Her blue eyes widened and with quick maneuvering she escaped and landed several feet away from the much larger man. Gritting her teeth, she fell into a defensive stance.

"Smooth move blondie," the man growled, "at a distance you don't have a chance of defeating me!"

"We'll see about that, scumbag!" she responded heatedly and in flash she was airborne, sending a wave of kunais raining down on him, to which he easily dodged.

"How pathetic!" He laughed. "I knew eventually there'd be a target on my head but I thought that they would send someone worth fighting! Even your acting skills are terrible, I only let you live this long for my own amusement!" Ino's expression grew cold as she straightened.

"And what makes you think we weren't doing the same?"

"We?" The man asked with a chuckle that quickly cut out when the ground below him shattered. He slammed into the broken rock below with a surprised _oof_. A second figure appeared atop the ground above him, her long locks of pale hair billowing gently in the breeze. The dim light of the moon created a soft halo around the other's form, highlighting the curves of a body that was devastatingly as beautiful as it was deadly. Reaching into her long black trench, worn over a mesh body suit the woman retrieved a scroll and quickly ripped it open.

"Chikuzen Oka, defected nin of Otogakure," she declared, pausing to flash her eerily luminescent hues upon him. "You have been targeted for your unforgiveable crimes against defenseless civilians, including but not limited to theft, assault, rape and murder." Stuffing the parchment back into her jacket she pulled her lip into a snarl, revealing one perfectly shaped fang. "Fight if it is your wish, but you _will _pay for these atrocities with your _life_!" Roaring defiantly, Chikuzen leapt from the chasm with his blade drawn, only to take a vicious stab at thin air before him.

"What the-" the man's curse faded into nothing when a swift kick sent him flying backward, and slamming into the hole that would become his grave. Pouncing on top of him, an unconscious grin grew across Sakura's lips when he howled painfully from being pushed further into the broken rocks below. The smell of blood wafting from his injuries was tantalizing, but the young vampire found herself relishing in a different sensation instead. The fear oozing from her prey was exhilarating. Licking her lips, she could _taste_ it.

"Please don't kill me!" The sound of the man's plea shook Sakura from her trance. Before she lost her resolve she quickly reached for a kunai and plunged it lethally into the side of the man's neck. Moving rapidly, she pulled the weapon away and covered her mouth over the wound.

Her body convulsed the moment the flavor assaulted her tongue, but it was a beautiful invasion. The sound of his screams and all other sensations evaporated while she was focused on a thirst that could be quenched by nothing else but this delightfully warm and thick subsistence. Though the blood from the hospital she consumed daily kept her energy up, there was nothing that compared to this. It was as if for days she had been starving and was finally presented with a feast fit for a king.

After several minutes, Sakura finally returned to the surface and was startled when the other kunoichi tossed a black satchel into her arms. Looking down toward her blood soaked clothing, the vampire smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, right."

After both girls quickly changed, Sakura once again felt a little bit more like herself and less like the blood thirsty Black Mamba. Wearing her favorite red qpiao dress and her village's symbol proudly she traveled quickly back toward the Hidden Leaf with her best friend and fellow assassin at her side. But Ino seemed withdrawn. Taking out another ninja, no matter what the reason, was hardly a joyous affair but the blonde was usually more talkative.

"Hey, uh, Ino?" She inquired softly as they leapt through the thick forest's trees. "Sorry about that back there. I got a little carried away. Next time I'll give you a better warning before I…" She trailed, unable to find the right words. Ino sighed.

"Don't worry about it. That's not why I'm upset." The young jonin replied with a grumble. "I really botched up that mission good. He saw right through my disguise. I guess that's why you insisted on coming on my mission with me, huh?" Finally coming down from the tree tops, Sakura reached out for her friend's shoulder and vehemently shook her head.

"No way! Just because he caught on means nothing. I have complete faith that you could have taken him down on your own." Sakura reassured as the two walked, their hidden village coming into view.

"There still isn't any word on the reason to why I was attacked in Egypt." The pink haired girl explained. "It could be really dangerous for any of us, which is why we should all go out in pairs until it's resolved." That wasn't completely honest, over the past few months Sakura had taken several missions on by herself but the ones she did in pairs were always with Ino. Though confident in her own heightened abilities after becoming a vampire, being in charge of the other assassins meant she was to be concerned with their safety. Again, Ino sighed.

"So, will you want half the purse then?" She asked with an arched brow.

"Ah, no that's ok. I got what I needed." Ino chuckled and grinned mischievously.

"Hey, if tagging along on my missions will help you fulfill your creepy vampire cravings, that's a-ok with me!"

"Hey!" Sakura shouted and balled her hand into a threatening fist. "I just did all the work on your mission for you and am not asking for any money! I'd think you'd be a little more grateful and not so rude!" Ino crossed her arms.

"You did all the work? You didn't have to let that gross guy hang off of you all night. I'd have rather just killed him!" She said while sticking her nose into the air.

"_Ino_…"

"Just kidding!" The blonde announced with a laugh and wink. "It was just a joke, chill out Billboard Brow!" She continued to chortle. Sakura shook her head as the two finally entered town. Though her friend had a weird way of showing it, she knew she was thankful for her assistance.

In fact, out of all of her friends, Ino had been the most supportive of her _predicament_. Together they had torn through whatever literature they could find in an effort to discover what qualities describing vampires were myths and what ones were truth. She had assisted Sakura in tests ranging anywhere from dousing her with holy water to carefully attempting to see if her skin would erupt in flames in the presence of fire. Though they hadn't tried every test (they decided Sakura would just have to avoid getting her head chopped off or being staked in the heart), they found that the ones they did test were indeed false. It seemed her biggest issues were being weakened by the sunlight and her ever present desire to drink human blood. And that information had of course been shared with her by Sasuke…

He hadn't come right out and said it, but after a few days had passed after being returned to the village, Sasuke admitted to both she and Naruto that when he had found her, she hadn't been alone…

From his description she knew exactly who had been hovering by her unconscious body. She couldn't ever forget where she'd seen such wild white hair and a terrifying smile. Bakura's conversation with Sasuke had been short. He had quickly informed him of everything Sakura would need to survive and nothing more. The wicked man made no attempt to attack or stop Sasuke from taking her, which was incredibly confusing. If he hadn't been trying to stop her from escaping, why had he followed her?

Three months and five days had passed since her return to Konoha, she had counted, and despite Atemu shamelessly announcing his unrelenting interest in her – he had let her go without any resistance. Though the action was surprising, Sakura should have been thankful that he respected her wish to leave and overall, she was. But a different part of her felt absolutely wretched, a feeling she couldn't shake. She felt like a child's once favorite toy that had been heartlessly discarded when she became too boring.

_No, that's not the case at all. _Sakura reminded herself with a shake of her head. _I chose to leave, and now I'm here, home, where I belong._

"Hey," the sound of Ino's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Have you had any more dreams about that hunky vampire guy?"

"No!" She lied and turned her head in an effort to conceal her blush.

"Yeah whatever," Ino grinned. "Have any _sexy_ ones this time?"

"INO!"

"Geez, chill out, Sakura. There's no reason to be so uptight. Take a joke once in awhile, ok?" The blonde said with a jab of her finger into the other's shoulder. "Shikamaru and some of the others are meeting at Ichiraku's for some ramen and a few sakes, wanna come?" She asked with a smile.

"Well," Sakura paused. Ever since becoming a vampire she couldn't stand the smell of ramen. The steaming dish attacked her sensitive nose like a boiling vat of brine. But even if she couldn't partake in the culinary delights she used to love, some social interaction would at least get her mind off more disconcerting thoughts.

"Sure, I'd love to!" She smiled. The two walked toward and into the village's popular eatery.

The static in the room and the multitude of eyes that fell on her when she entered was still something the young kunoichi still hadn't gotten used to. She had seen the effect of a vampire's appeal on humans while in Egypt, but it was still surreal to see the faces she had known for so long flooded with lust for her. Lowering her eyes, she walked aimlessly forward until Ino's voice woke her.

"Stare at her boobs a little more, Shika," The blonde growled as she shuffled into the booth beside her boyfriend and haughtily under his offered arm.

"Good God, Ino, I may have been the only one in here not looking but I swear I wasn't. Do you really think I care?" He said with a yawn and leaned back lazily. "No offense Sakura, how are you?" Sakura couldn't help but smile. It was nice to see that some things about people, her friends, never changed.

"Just fine, thanks Shikamaru." She responded politely to the black haired ninja. She gave a small wave to the plump Chōji who was rapidly shoving ramen noodles into his mouth at the seat across from them.

"I'll never get used to _Sakura _being the girl ogled around here instead of me." Ino said turning her grin toward the pink-haired nin standing at the table's edge.

"If you were really worried that much about appearances you should have picked a boyfriend who cared about what you looked like." She responded with small laugh. Shikamaru rolled his eyes as the girls and Chōji had a laugh at his expense.

"Sakura!" A shout erupted from across the room. Tossing her gaze toward the ramen bar she smirked upon spying Naruto waving his chopsticks wildly in the air.

"I'll catch you later, guys," She bid them before walking to the bar.

"Hey Naruto," She greeted cheerily and moved her glance to focus on the two figures seated beside him. "Sai, Sasuke…" Sakura spoke the final name quietly.

"Get this dumbass away from me." Sasuke spoke up without greeting or moving his attention from his ramen bowl. Sai turned to her, showing his typical dispassionate expression.

"I was going over all the attributes as to why I'm a better member to Team 7." He explained to her. "But Sasuke doesn't seem to care." Sakura laughed nervously. Naruto seemed to care less about diffusing the situation as he too sucked down his ramen as quickly as possible.

"Well it doesn't really matter anymore now that we're all jonin. Mind if I take your seat, Sai?" She asked, not worrying about offending the odd mannered ninja.

"Not at all, I was just leaving," He said rising from his seat between her two original team members. Pausing for a moment he stood before her.

"You look nice tonight," he commented idly. Sakura almost fell over in shock. Sai giving her a compliment surely meant that hell had frozen over.

"You looked really pale, earlier…" He let the last comment trail as he made his way outside the eatery. Taking her place on the stool, she couldn't help but smile when she met Naruto's grin.

"How'd it go? Take on anybody tough?"

"Sounds like she found someone good to eat." Sasuke piped in, sipping the rest of his broth before placing the bowl back onto the bar. Sakura felt her stomach wrench when she caught the color of Sasuke's fierce stare. Though he was still stoic and generally in a terrible mood, something about the former love her life's temperament had changed since her return to Konoha. Those black as coal eyes were no longer hollow when he looked at her. They flared and sparked with embers of an emotion she didn't recognize, but their attention made her feel ice cold and burning hot at the same time.

"Yea," she answered sounding a little depressed as she turned her eyes to stare at her hands on the bar.

"Well, you did a lot better than Sasuke did on his mission, then! What a loser!" Naruto quickly flipped the subject as he reached for another ramen bowl and began gobbling it down.

"Can it, Naruto." Sasuke grumbled.

"They're only allowing him D-rank missions these days! Madame Shijimi's cat ran away again and scratched the holy hell out of Sasuke!" Naruto announced the jonin's blunder with roaring laughter. Sakura giggled a little but promptly stopped when she caught the other's scowl. Allowing her focus to widen she caught the appearance of a few thin scratch marks on the male's pale neck, that was striated with muscle but still slimly formed.

"They're still a little bloody," Sasuke uttered quietly, recapturing her bright green eyes. "You can clean them for me, if you feel the need." Sakura's heart fluttered as the words sunk in to her brain.

"That's uh…kind of weird Sasuke." Naruto commented.

"Why?" Sasuke responded without moving his attention from Sakura, "She still practices medical ninjutsu, does she not?"

"Oh, I thought you meant…ah never mind." The blond ninja waved before returning back to his food, taking a quick swig of sake before diving for the noodles.

The true depth of she and Sasuke's conversation was within their locked gazes. Though the prospect of fresh blood was always tantalizing, after this evening's excursion Sakura wasn't that distracted by the pulsing red streaks. But the hunger for a human need that hadn't abandoned her was tugging incessantly at her insides.

The only intimate experience she had ever had with another had been in this very place, in a dark corner of the back of the restaurant when she had been drunk enough to accept Rock Lee's advances. Was Sasuke's comment an invitation to what she had wanted for as long as she could remember? Her sight glazed over when she recalled those gentle kisses, and how she had wished for ones that were hungrier and greedier with her eyes tightly closed. The touch of Lee's fingers had been noble, so why was it she only craved the contact of a killer? She imagined Sasuke being rougher, pinning her fiercely to the wall and ravaging her to his needs.

Tearing her eyes away she stared heatedly into the surface of the wooden bar. This was a bad idea. She had spent so much time letting go of Sasuke she couldn't bear to allow him a reach at her heart even if at the moment he was appealing to her physical desires. Quickly slinging her bag onto her shoulder she hopped to her feet and turned to give a nervous wave.

"I'm really tired, so I'll see you later alright?" She waved to both and made a beeline to the door.

"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled after but she didn't stop.

"Bye Sakura!" She heard Naruto call before finally escaping into the night. The young ninja took a deep breath of the cool air before walking away from the loud establishment. She debated on whether or not to go home yet. Her vampire body wanted to be awake at night but she managed to force herself to sleep a few hours so she wasn't tired during the day time. Besides being the Black Mamba when a mission presented itself Sakura still worked three days a week in the hospital as well assisted Ino in teaching flower arranging occasionally. Taking a brief walk around the village would at least get her mind off of her body's treacherous wants.

She hadn't gotten but a few strides away before an icy feeling converged around her. Gasping sharply she quickly whirled around, tossing her eyes in all directions but didn't observe a single soul. The presence felt familiar but hardly human, almost like a demon that had visited her unwittingly in her dreams. She reached for a kunai at her hip when the ghostly feeling coaxed an unusual thrill, inducing panicked breaths in the confused kunoichi.

"Sakura," a velveteen voice greeted from behind. Whirling around, the kunai in her hand dropped helplessly to the ground. Sparks of memory were firing all at once when her gaze filled of the black clad figure just barely visible within the alley of a pair of buildings.

Peeling away from the wall he sauntered toward her, hands lost in the pockets of his coat that's standing collar brushed against the sharp edge of his jaw. His tanned lips were pulled into a smirk, but the look in his eyes was placid despite their intense scarlet shade inducing a wave of confounding shivers within her. They may have called Sakura the Black Mamba but in truth it was Atemu who was the snake. His smoldering red eyes had her hypnotized. She didn't dare move from where her feet were planted firmly onto the ground.

"Sakura," he repeated amusingly upon reaching her. She sucked in a ragged breath when he reached his slim fingers toward her, allowing the pink strands of her hair to fall through them like running water. She shivered upon hearing a pleased rumble escape his throat.

"Now that is a name that suits you." He uttered deeply. Their bodies were dangerously near, so close that she could feel the vibrations of the muscular twitching beneath his clothing. And she knew it was perfect, despite never having seen him unclothed. She felt a magnetic pull to him, but the fear those red eyes left with her kept her firmly unmoved. Atemu showed his fangs in a grin and looked as if he had something else to say, but before he spoke another word a loud interruption came booming.

"Sakura Haruno!" A feminine voice cut through the air. Knocked from her trance Sakura leapt away from him, whipping her free flowing hair along with her glance toward the direction of the voice. Her eyes widened upon recognizing the appearance of three nostalgic faces.

"Temari!" She found just enough of her voice to squeak the name.

"_Sakura_," The sand ninja spoke her name venomously, narrowing her dark green eyes in a manner that was everything but friendly. Taken aback she looked to Gaara sans his Kazekage attire and Kankurō before again wildly tossing her gaze back to Atemu. He leisurely focused his attention on the approaching three, just before looking back to her, a sadistic smirk settled on his face. He didn't share her intimidation of the newcomers, if anything, he apparently found it hilarious. Temari's gaze didn't move from Sakura, but Gaara quickly took in his surroundings, giving the unfamiliar man a glance before turning to the kunoichi.

"Hello, Sakura," he greeted cordially. She sought the words to respond but could find none at having not decided how she should react to this situation.

"Gaara!" An excited voice yelled from behind her. Turning in horror she spied Naruto quickly approaching their growing group.

"Naruto…" She managed to breath but her eyes further widened when she spied Sasuke languidly following behind him.

_No. No, no, no, no. _Sakura's inner-self panicked. There were too many things happening at once. She finally decided she needed to get Atemu away from the others without a fuss but when she opened her mouth Kohona's infamous loudmouth interrupted.

"What in the world are you guys doing here, showing up in the middle of the night?" Naruto demanded loudly, but grinned as he stopped at Sakura's side. Turning to the person he didn't recognize he scratched his head.

"Who the heck are-" Sakura covered her hands over Naruto's mouth and he flailed wildly.

"Shut up!" She hissed before he escaped.

"What? Why? What's going on!"

"Gaara," Sasuke's voice oozed darkly into the air, earning everyone's undivided attention.

"That's Kazekage to you, traitor." Kankurō hissed.

"It's alright, Kankurō" The red-haired kage spoke up calmly. "Hello Sasuke, it's good to see you well and not trying to destroy the ones who love you." Sasuke didn't outwardly respond to his jab.

"You seem disappointed by that. If you're of the ones believing I should be executed you're welcome to take your best shot, if you dare."

"Our countries have been through enough war so I'll have to decline, though the offer is tempting." Gaara replied, his voice even and calm. "Besides, if anyone has earned that honor it would belong to those that you hurt when you abandoned them." He gestured to both Sakura and Naruto.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "Will you guys cut it out? No one's killing anybody so shut up!" From the corner of her eye Sakura checked to see how Atemu was reacting to all this. He still wore a smirk, absorbing the information being bantered before him, but suddenly his expression changed. Shifting her gaze a little more she caught Sasuke staring the vampire down. The spikey-haired man looked darkly on the other, but only for a moment before turning back to catch Sakura's secret stare and smiled. He seemed willing to just observe this little encounter, at least, for now.

"All of you, shut up!" Temari roared, stepping ahead of her siblings and stopping a few feet before Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke hanging near their team member's back. "None of this is about any of you," she seethed and glared into Sakura. "Where is Anko?"

Suddenly, clarity rang through her clouded thoughts. When she had last spoken to the former lead of the assassins she had left her with a warning.

"_I have full confidence that I've made the right choice putting you into this position." _Anko had told her. _"But be warned, the other four are proud kunoichi. They're going to want to know why they were passed up for the top position and they will test you. Count on it."_

After that she had given Sakura information on the other certified assassins. Many of the names she hadn't heard of, besides those who were within her village, but of the elite four, there was a name she recognized. The woman known to be the cruelest kunoichi of all was also ranked the second deadliest.

"Oh God, not now…" the vampiress mumbled.

"What? What did you say?" The taller kunoichi demanded hotly. Sakura flinched, not realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud.

"Well, Temari…"

"Anko is out of the village at the moment. Feel free to direct any of your questions to me." An approaching voice interrupted. Emerging past Ichiraku's was Kakashi, looking casual despite the forehead protector covering his eye and the mask on his face. Closing the Icha Icha book in his hand he passed his eye over the tense little group without alarm.

"What the hell?" Naruto blurted out. "Where are your robes and body guards, old man?" He roared excitedly. "You're the worst Hokage ever!"

"The insubordination of the Leaf is disgusting," Kankurō muttered under his breath.

"Didn't think I needed them," Kakashi addressed Naruto with a shrug. "I guess I wasn't expecting an impromptu declaration of war in the middle of the night." He said languidly letting his gaze fall upon Gaara.

"Sunagakure has no quarrel with Konoha," Gaara responded quickly. "I come here tonight not on behalf of my village as Kazekage, but for support for my sister, Temari." He explained. All eyes fell upon the pigtailed blonde.

"In Anko's absence, please address my inquiries, honorable Hokage," Temari spoke much more respectively now with a shallow bow of her head. "I received word not long ago that Anko had chosen a replacement for her position as top ranked assassin, a position that can be held universally throughout the village alliance. But instead of naming her second, third, fourth, fifth or _any _experienced kunoichi for her successor, she chose _Sakura_." Temari paused to coldly look in the girl's direction.

"Yes, that is correct." Kakashi nodded, as the blunt kunoichi struggled to keep her cool.

"_Why_?"

"Well Temari," the Hokage spoke softly. "That would be because out of all the other assassins including the elite second, third, fourth, and fifth." He annunciated each title slowly, "Anko determined Sakura to be the deadliest." At her sensei's explanation, Sakura felt her face grow increasingly hot. A familiar and dark chuckle brushing past her ears didn't help matters.

"That is impossible!" Temari roared, her siblings also appearing to be taken by surprise.

"I'm afraid it is the case," Kakashi continued plainly. "And I have to admit to you. Like Anko, I too agree with her assessment." A pregnant pause followed the Hokage's personal statement of support, but Temari's shock didn't last for long.

"Sakura Haruno!" She announced dramatically pointing her index finger at the wide-eyed kunoichi. "I invoke the right to challenge you for top position! Surrender it, or fight me!" She barked. Sakura felt her insides wrench. Temari was a legendary kunoichi. Brutal and merciless, she had been named the rank of jonin before Sakura had even become a chunin.

"Sakura?" Kakashi's gentle voice awoke her from her horror. "Do you accept?" Passing her eyes around the group she noticed Atemu's never faltering smirk before turning back to Temari and straightening her shoulders.

"I accept." She said boldly, making her best attempt at an intimidating glare.

"Alright. Then we will arrange to facilitate this bout for tomorrow within the Academy-"

"No," Temari growled, interrupting the Hokage. "The rules are clear if you remember them. A challenge for top position can occur at any time and any place. Be glad I announced it to you, first. That wasn't required." She sneered. Sakura resisted the urge to take a step away from her.

"Taking both of your abilities into account I am concerned about the damage that may be sustained to the surrounding buildings…" Kakashi spoke up.

"The loser's village will pay for any damages," Gaara interrupted. "Is that fair?"

"I accept those terms." The Hokage responded immediately much to Sakura's shock. "Alright then, give them some space!" At the order, the crowd that had gathered around them zipped from sight. They took cover on the tops of buildings murmuring whispers, placing bets on who would win.

Sakura's heart stilled upon seeing only Temari stood before her. She too took a giant leap backward, an expected move for a ninja proficient in long range techniques. Passing her eyes over the growing crowd, she spotted Atemu electing to not take to the rooftops, instead leaning against one of the buildings amusedly as if he were just enjoying the show.

"Well this is interesting," Naruto's voice rang. Turning around she saw Naruto and Sasuke still stood behind her. Sasuke still looked wearily in the newcomer's direction, but eventually turned back to Sakura.

"Good luck Sakura, don't hurt her too badly alright?" Naruto gave her a thumbs up. Just before he and Sasuke moved to leave Sakura reached forward and grabbed urgently onto the blonde ninja's jacket.

"Wait," She breathed, earning both their gazes. "Temari…" She began, and had a million things to say after that name. She had the advantage in the fact that she could induce massive blows without ever having to get close. The sand ninja had proven her ability time and again to attack ruthlessly without regret or remorse, having been trained to kill from a young age. Even with her increased strength, how could Sakura stand a chance in defeating her?

"What should I do?" The nervous kunoichi finally articulated, releasing her hold from the friend who had always protected her. Sasuke and Naruto shared a glance before turning back to Sakura with matching half smiles.

"What kind of question is that Sakura?" Sasuke asked tauntingly.

"Yeah…" Naruto trailed, grinning and holding a determined fist before him.

"Kick her ass!" They both shouted in unison and sprang away.

Turning back to her opponent, Sakura tried her best to not think of all the people who were watching. Some were rooting for her. Others perhaps were just waiting to see her fail.

Most of all, she tried ignore the feeling of an intense gaze burning into her, the memory of Atemu's wicked smirk haunting her brain. He was certainly enjoying this, but worrying about what he actually wanted with her would have to wait until she faced Temari and somehow managed to escape this encounter alive. She fell into a defensive stance, meeting her opponent's angry scowl with her own attempt at one. A smooth and rich voice in her head was speaking to her, maybe this was all a dream, or maybe she had just lost her mind.

_Go on, little one. _It said.

_Kill her._

* * *

THANK YOU TO: **naive-toots, angel897, wn123, kaminariyoru, Rawrgoesdadino, Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, TheVampyricAssassin, pheonix42, darkladywolf, TheAttentionJustEncouragesHer, acrobatassassin, Sakura Waldorf, Cata, animelover, Lucia Tsukiyomi-hime, smileyz,** and **Blue Merit** for reviewing last time!

I'm sorry it took so long for me to update…my muse wavers a lot on this story, but I really got into it when I started writing about Sakura's blood and *ahem* cravings. Writing sexy Atemu didn't hurt, either, ;). You can help me keep my muse by leaving me reviews though! *begs* I'm an addict, please, I must have my fix!

Thank you so much for reading…

~El3

(P.S…expect some Atemu/Sakura interactions in the next chapter. It was light here but I'm loving that he's going to see her fight! ^^)


	8. The Serpent's Dance

_The Five Femme Fatale_

El3v3n

**All characters belong to their respective owners.**

The Serpents' Dance

"What in the world is he thinking?" Naruto complained, grappling his fists before him. The blonde ninja glared across the tops of buildings toward the village's mild mannered Hokage. Kakashi gazed toward the ground below, where the two young kunoichi stood still and unmoving in defensive stances. Though he was focused, Konoha's noble leader appeared completely relaxed with a casual stance.

"How can he just let this happen? Especially a cheap ass like him, there's sure to be damage to the buildings," Naruto gestured to the small dirt courtyard the two women were poised in, surrounded by modest homes and businesses.

"Kakashi had to agree to Gaara's terms," Sasuke responded coldly, his dark gaze fixed on the calm before the storm below where he and Naruto stood atop a building of small apartments. "If he hadn't, it would have shown his lack of confidence in Sakura and would have been a mental blow in Temari's favor."

"I'm not talking about strategy or any of that crap!" Naruto growled, "Temari comes in demanding a battle to the death and he just allows it right here and now without giving Sakura a second to prepare? That stuff Temari said was bullshit, all Kakashi had to say was no and Gaara would have told her to back off until tomorrow!" Sasuke smirked.

"At the moment Kakashi is hardly worried about Sakura's well-being."

"What?" Naruto seethed toward his estranged teammate. Sasuke turned back to look at him, the corners of his lips upturned in a dark smile.

"Think about it, one of your most esteemed ninja shows up one day with a power so great and mysterious that only a few have ever seen it and lived to tell the tale."

"Don't flatter yourself, Sasuke," Naruto frowned earning a snort from his dark-haired companion.

"Don't pretend like you're not interested in this as well." Sasuke's smirk returned. "So far Sakura's abilities have been untested, and when a worthy challenger lands on your doorstep…it's the perfect opportunity to observe just how _deadly_ she really is." In an instant Naruto was in Sasuke's face with his knuckles white around the fabric of the front of his shirt.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He demanded lowly. "This isn't a game. Temari is ruthless and she won't hesitate a second to kill Sakura if it means she'll win." Sasuke shoved Naruto away from him and glared.

"She won't," the once defected ninja snarled in response, "She'll never get the chance."

"You're right!" Naruto held his fist before him, "I'll stop her!"

"She doesn't need you, _Naruto_," Sasuke spoke hatefully. "If Sakura chooses to… she could literally _eat_ _her alive_." The two shinobis' argument was interrupted by the appearance of a few familiar faces on the tiled rooftop.

"What's going on?" Ino demanded, pushing past Sasuke to look over the edge of the building. "Sakura!" She gasped and prepared to leap to the ground when a hand grasping the blonde's bicep halted her.

"You have to stay out of this one, Ino," Shikamaru explained calmly to her glare. "Just about everyone in this village is watching from the rooftops, Sakura must have agreed to fight with Temari."

"Then who's that guy down at Minamoto's bakery?" Choji asked, chewing the last bits of his rice ball before gesturing with his thumb.

Lounging within one of the chairs on the abandoned patio was the ominous stranger whose presence, though subdued, caused quite a stir among the village residents. Head tilted to one side against his knuckles, his slacked posture exuded absolute nonchalance. It was as if he hadn't a care despite the potential threats looming around him. A cavalier smirk dressing his features, he made that old wooden chair look like an emperor's throne.

Ino's cloudy blues dilated as she looked upon spiked-haired outsider.

"It's-" she paused to lick her lips, "it's him…" She finished breathily.

"Who?" Naruto asked loudly.

"The one who…made Sakura – what she is now." She responded softly. Frowning deeply, Sasuke let his eyes linger on Konohagakure's unwelcome guest and narrowed them.

* * *

Fear.

It was hardly the first time Sakura had found herself in danger as it was the duty of even the lowest-ranking shinobi to fight or die trying when their mission or village was threatened. But something about this encounter…was different.

A chill raced Sakura's spine and she flinched when a soft rustle passed by her sensitive hearing. Her pupils dilated when she spied the paper laterns beyond Temari - their rustling in the night's cool and silent breeze like that of a rattlesnake, lying in wait for its prey. Unconsciously she felt her breath quicken, and her throat constrict. Maybe vampires didn't need air to survive, but her body had forgotten that. The sharpness in her chest was icy, like frozen needles threatening to stab from the inside. For just a moment she let her panicked green orbs lock with the one the assassin's called the _Sand Cobra_ and that was a mistake. Temari's clouded chasms were narrowed in hate. Whether she despised Sakura or the fact she surpassed her in rank was uncertain, but regardless of her true sentiment, the young kunoichi was clearly determined to recover her deadly reputation.

All of the sudden, the blonde swiftly shifted her feet and produced her metal fan with speed that sliced the air before her in an audible clink.

"Scythe Weasel!" she bellowed and swung the body-sized weapon before her with a force that sent a sharpened gust of air hurtling toward Sakura at breakneck speed. Sakura willed her body to move but she was frozen – paralyzed with fear and doubt in her own abilities. Time seemed to slow down, and in an instant the pink haired girl was taken back to her mission in the Egypt. She saw the blinding strobe lights and the hypnotizing stare of that beautiful stranger that had smiled as the last drop of her human essence had poured from her veins. And those same hauntingly red eyes were watching her _now_.

At the last possible moment, Sakura regained her senses and launched herself behind the courtyard's center monument, a large statue of solid stone that had just been horizontally cut in half.

Sakura's eyes widened as the stone hit the Earth with a thunderous crash and a flood of whispers coming down from the rooftops followed. That attack hadn't been launched to maim…but to _kill_.

Sliding her eyes to peer over the severed edge of the pillar, she absorbed the sand kunoichi's cold expression with a ragged breath.

The worst case for this scenario had come to be, Temari was taking this dangerously serious. For Sakura, becoming a trained assassin had been something she sought out of necessity. She had needed a steady profession that could continuously put food on the table and she instead gained a pair of fangs with an irresistible desire for blood. Temari and the other sand siblings were notoriously prideful, and for her this was about more than the rank on her badge.

"Scythe Weasel!" The scowling blonde roared again, and Sakura hit the ground and rolled away as Temari's wind attack hacked down the broken stone. Lying low within the rubble the pink haired ninja cursed under her breath. She wondered if she had planned to take down Anko like this, in a surprise attack and take her rank as the best of the trained killers. Or maybe she was patient enough to wait, that is until news of Sakura's promotion enraged her and presented her with a shining opportunity…take the top spot by mowing down the inexperienced – the weak.

And as far as Temari knew, Sakura had always been _weak_.

Digging her fingers into the soil below Sakura narrowed her eyes determinedly. She could beat Temari if she could get close to her. But her large weapon was also a shield, and as long as the challenger sustained her chakra she could attack Sakura with brutal gusts until there were no longer places left to hide. She would have to out-endure her, it was the only way. First she needed to focus, put aside her insecurities and forget about _all_ the pairs of eyes that were watching.

"You can't hide forever…_Black Mamba_." Temari seethed with a hiss worthy of her rank. Not moments after the words left her tongue, a lithe silhouette was airborne from the debris and sent three shuriken slicing toward the wind releaser. Temari effortlessly blocked the barbed stars with a swing of her fan.

"And to think I was expecting something different out of you," Temari smirked, "same old boring tricks." Sakura gripped the leather of her open-fingered gloves and charged toward her enemy, the soles of her sandals barely brushing the ground as she traveled rapidly. Wielding the hulking fan as if it were feather-light, Temari swung at Sakura with unforgiving force. Kicking away from the steel, Sakura lessened the blow preparing to flip away when her opponent grinned.

"Dust wind!" Sakura's eyes widened as the gust slammed into her, the flying particles of dirt and sand from the ground below stinging her eyes and making small, excruciating paper-like cuts across her skin. Springing away quickly, Sakura quickly dove for cover at the side of one of the buildings and Temari ruthlessly pursued, ripping a chunk from the outer wall with another wind attack.

And they continued like this, Sakura was rarely on the offensive as every attempt of an attack left her wide open for one of Temari's blows. She relied greatly on her speed to defend her, but not even her incredible fleetness was faster than the wind. The nips and nicks from Temari's attacks that did catch her were starting to add up and Sakura could feel her limbs begin to ache. She was getting tired, but she knew Temari was too. The Sunagakure ninja was relying heavily on her chakra that wasn't endless and she dared not attack Sakura close range – she at least had that respect for her abilities. Sakura focused on her own chakra that was still pulsating through her vasculature. If she could just get close…she would only need a single hit to end this. She needed to persevere. Temari must have sensed she was approaching her own limit because she became more aggressive and her attacks more merciless.

When Sakura dove away from a wind gust she was quickly surprised when Temari appeared just feet before her mid fall. Before she had time to react the other kunoichi's lips twisted cruelly.

"Scythe weasel." She rumbled and before Sakura had time to blink she was hit head on by her opponent's deadliest attack. The pink haired ninja felt her body go limp as it went splintering through the wall of a garments' shop. Her back made an audible crack against a table piled with flak jackets but the sage colored cloth did little to break her fall.

"She isn't getting back up from that." Kankuro noted coldly as he observed the newest damaged building. "I guess Temari wasn't kidding when she said she'd cut her to pieces."

Gaara said nothing.

Within the darkness, deathly silence suffocated the emptiness around the stilled ninja, until it was shattered by the sound of her tormented screams.

A scalding pain like no other she'd ever experienced surged through the vampire's nerves. The smell of her own blood assaulted her nostrils, flowing thick and fiery like lava from the gash at her waist where her opponent had nearly cut her in two. Her vision became wavy and her ragged breaths only worsened the agony. In the haze of her injury, her subconscious ordered her to move and heal herself with the chakra she'd taken a beating to preserve. Shakily shifting to place her hand to the wound, she caught a glimpse of movement, and noticed her reflection in a cracked mirror that had fallen to the floor. But the figure in the broken glass was a woman she had never before seen.

It was an entity that Sakura had always felt within her, but had never uttered a sound. She embodied the young kunoichi's true feelings – retaining every fear and desire no matter how falsely Sakura presented herself to the outside world. But this woman who'd she always thought to be her inner self was a far cry from the insecure girl who cheered when she was victorious, cried in response to heartbreak and cowered when terror clutched her heart.

The reflection grinned wickedly back at her - the green of her irises wide and luminous with a faint glow. Dipping a slender finger into the puddle of red pooled before her, she brought it to her mouth and tasted its flavor running her soft tongue to retrieve the remainder across the front of her sharpened fangs. She celebrated her pain, transforming the searing pangs into power – her torture into throes of passion. The sight, the smell, and the _taste _of blood was exhilarating. And the promise of drawing more…filled her with an excitement that brought trembles to her limbs all the way down to the tips of her fingers and toes. Suddenly, her mortal wound began to heal, covering the ragged and bleeding flesh with smooth and porcelain colored skin. The familiar stranger's grin suddenly subsided, and throwing back her gorgeous pink locks she laughed heartily and shrilly into the nothingness in the room. But the vampire's merriment was quickly interrupted when the silhouette of a visitor appeared at building's newly renovated entrance.

Temari balked at the sight of Sakura lying on the broken floor stifling giggles as she turned her incandescent orbs upon the sand kunoichi.

"You-" the blonde paused, gritting her teeth in disbelief. "Even for a medical expert like you, there's no way you could have healed that quickly!" Coming fluidly to sit up, Sakura ripped the raveling forehead protector from her hair and brandished a smile that revealed the shine of her deadly teeth.

"The little ninja you came to annihilate isn't here." She spoke smoothly, in an almost unrecognizable voice. But suddenly her mirth evaporated and her lips pulled across her teeth in a snarl.

"Because I _devoured_ her!" She roared and Temari's face drained quickly of its color. She managed to raise her fan defend herself from the flash of pink that charged her.

Temari jumped backward into the courtyard but Sakura pursued. She chopped the heavy metal at her opponent and gaped in shock when the vampire caught it, and tore it ruthlessly from her grasp. Letting it fall to the ground, the pink haired assassin stomped on it and the sturdy metal crunched beneath her sandal. Horror spread across Temari's features as she stared at the smirking leaf ninja, looking wild with torn clothing and free flowing pale locks in the gentle breeze. Reacting, the disarmed kunoichi prepared to use the remainder of her chakra for a last ditch summoning, but Sakura was before her in an instant – her bright green eyes widened in madness. With a ball of bright pink chakra gathered at her fist she plunged it into Temari's midsection.

She relished in the sound of breaking bones as the shuttering currents of her enemy' pain vibrated beneath the flesh of her hand. Temari screamed in sweet, delectable agony but that wasn't Sakura's true reward. Letting the kunoichi crumble to the ground Sakura eyed the palpitating carotid drumming on the fallen's neck. She could hear the blood racing to collect at the woman's internal injuries, and if she wanted to take any of the non-bruised elixir for herself she'd have to act quickly. Sakura fell to her knees and hypnotically drifted toward the dying ninja's neck.

"What are you doing?" Kankuro roared, but his voice was but an echo in her mind. Licking her lips as she descended over that slender neck, all she could think about was her hard fought prey and her well deserved prize.

"Sakura," a voice interrupted gently. A snarl ripping through her throat, she looked up to see the Hokage looking calmly down upon her.

"It was very kind of you to heal Temari." He spoke and his words confused her. "Especially since she showed you no such leniency." Blinking, his voice finally registered.

'_Temari_…'

"Temari!" Sakura gasped and quickly activated her mystical palm technique and hovered her hands over the blood collecting on the outside of Temari's uniform.

'_Oh God_…" The medical ninja thought panickedly. She didn't understand what had come over her; she had completely lost control when she attacked Temari. It was as if she was moving and thinking outside of her own body. Attempting to focus on healing the other's wounds she felt tears begin to well at the base of her eyes. She had wanted to liberate every drop of blood from Temari – a person who was an ally to her village in other circumstances. This wasn't her. She wasn't a _monster_.

From the corner of her eye she noticed a figure approaching, expecting to see the sand siblings she was startled when she focused her eyes on the visitor she had momentarily forgotten. Atemu stood stiffly, his mouth turned downward into a frown as he glared daggers toward Kakashi who stood just behind her.

"Show's over, everyone go home!" Kakashi shouted to the rooftops. Most immediately took their leave under the Hokage's orders, with the exception of Temari's brothers and five disobedient youths descending from the rooftops. "That applies to you all as well." Kakashi narrowed his uncovered eye.

"Fuck off!" Naruto roared. "No way, Sakura just got injured we're going to make sure she's ok!"

"Sakura, I can help heal you if-" Ino began but was cut-off.

"I-I'm ok," Sakura shook the moisture from the eyes. "Really!" She spoke to Naruto's frown, looking away when Sasuke scowled.

"Come on," Shikamaru urged with a hand on both Ino and Naruto's shoulders. After some coaxing the five finally took their leave, but not before Sasuke let his glare linger on the elder vampire, though it went seemingly unnoticed.

"We'll take her now," Kankuro interrupted Sakura gruffly. Though she had substantially repaird most of the damage to Temari's body, the kunoichi was still unconscious.

"She should be fine, but she needs to go to the hospital." Sakura urged as Kankuro glared.

"She's welcome to stay and be treated here." Kakashi spoke toward Gaara.

"Thank you for the offer, but we've caused enough trouble and we can get her back to Sunakagure quickly enough." Gaara responded surprisingly cordial as Kankuro gathered the unconscious ninja under the watchful glare of Atemu into his arms. "As agreed upon before, we'll have the money transferred upon our arrival home to cover the damages." Kakashi nodded just before turning to Kankuro who still scowled at Sakura after she had come to her feet.

"Is there a problem, Kankuro?" The Hokage inquired.

"Yeah," he grumbled in response. "Just what were you trying to do? It sure looked like you weren't going to heal her." He accused pointedly toward the kunoichi. Sakura began to choke a response but paused when Gaara's hand fell on his elder brother's shoulder.

"That's enough Kankuro. Sakura healed Temari and we are grateful. Thank you." He said meeting her eyes.

"Um." Sakura spoke the first sound that escaped her lips. "Ok." She responded awkwardly.

"Sakura," Kakashi's soft voice earned her attention. "I'm going to escort them to the edge of the village, you're welcome to join us." He informed her. If he was trying to study her response to being left alone with the stranger that loomed just beyond them, he hid it well.

"That's ok. I'll…" She paused to ponder her words. "I'll just go home." With a curt nod, Kakashi and the three sand ninja disappeared from the courtyard and into night leaving Sakura alone with debris from the damaged buildings and man who'd haunted her dreams and nightmares for the past three months.

Catching his eyes she slowly approached. He stood as still as a statue, neither flinching nor outwardly reacting to her with any passionate emotion. But the cold fire shining in his deep red hues expressed his annoyance. He had waited patiently and refrained from interfering during this escapade but now, time was up. She knew she had better offer him answers or else whatever consequences he had in mind may be dire. The devastatingly beautiful man had seen what she was – what her people were with his own eyes, but she didn't know how to articulate it into words. She hadn't the slightest clue where to begin explaining her case – her reason for leaving him and returning to her world. Stopping before him, she met his hardened scarlet chasms with a wide and pleading stare.

"Back in that hotel room, three months ago," she began softly and resisted the urge to look away. She watched the change in his eyes at the sound of her voice. They lit up with the tiniest amount of intrigue, something that may have gone unnoticed by one not as focused as she.

"You asked me why I had paid attention to-" she paused as she remembered his cruel smile as he looked upon her dying form.

_"Tell me." He spoke quietly making no effort to hide his deadly teeth. "Why did you choose the attention of that fat fuck over mine?"_

"Why I paid attention to Kogoro Daimon," she repeated a bit more elegantly, swallowing hard when the looming vampire smirked. "That was because the only reason I was in Egypt in the first place was because," she paused again gathering her resolve despite the ever growing mirth building in the man before her.

"I had been sent there to kill him."

* * *

Sakura moved nervously around her kitchen, sparing glances toward the sleek form of Atemu where he sat serenely at her kitchen table. For a moment she begrudged not having enough space for a proper sitting room, but quickly came back to reality. This man lived in a fifty room palace and she had invited him into her own apartment, a unit dwarfed by the size of his home's foyer. But what other choice did she have? She'd been found out and she was already envisioning a murderous attack on her village and anyone in it who knew her secret. Grabbing a glass she opened her refrigerator and retrieved a bag of blood as if it was automatic, she paused upon realizing her mistake. Atemu stared at her from his seat with his brow piqued curiously.

"Um," Sakura began, and plastered on the cheeriest fang-filled smile she could manage. "Would you like something to drink? It's the finest hospital grade!" She laughed and her face promptly fell when he tried his best to contain his revulsion.

"No," he finally responded, "No, thank you," his rich voice rang surprisingly polite. Quickly depositing the blood back into its space, she made way to the table and gingerly took a seat. Atemu's eyes snapped to the tear in her dress, allowing a gratuitous amount of skin to show from her waist to her hip before again meeting her eyes with a lopsided smile. There was silence between them for a few moments before Sakura finally gathered the courage to speak.

"Look," she began a little more forcefully than she intended. "I mean, I know what this looks like, but really it's kind of like-"

"That name," Atemu interrupted, his deep voice drawing chills from her skin. "There was a saying I remember hearing as a boy growing up in Egypt." He began, amusement lighting up his features. "A pious man can best any beast in battle," he smirked wider, "but only an encounter with a black mamba is death a certainty." Sakura felt her face begin to grow hot under his scrutiny. "Have they always called you that?" He asked amusedly. "Or is this because of my doing?" Taking a deep breath, Sakura prepared to explain but was promptly interrupted.

"I'll admit, the set up you have here and this interesting lifestyle – whatever it may be – is the best attempt at playing human I've ever witnessed." He said, his smirk falling into a serious expression, "But as you've seen for yourself this evening, there's a reason vampires isolate themselves away from humans."

"But wait!" Sakura pled, feeling the passion rise in her chest, "Not every day is like this. This was a single incident – an isolated, uh, thing that isn't going to, or well, isn't likely to happen again!" Sakura felt her heart begin to palpitate when the powerful vampire narrowed his eyes. "I belong here. When I became a kunoichi, I took an oath to serve and protect my village and my friends, and that's what I'm going to do!" Atemu responded with a low chuckle and yet again the pink-haired girl grew nervous from his response.

"The only reason I allowed you to escape in the first place is because I was curious of this secret you were trying to keep from me." Atemu admitted, earning a shutter from Sakura. "But now that I've seen it for myself, I'm afraid I'm no longer interested."

Sakura felt her skin grow cold. No longer interested? What did that mean? Perhaps he intended to try and destroy her village, or maybe he wanted to be through with _her_. The young ninja flinched when the vampire leaned ever so slightly over the table.

"Return with me to Egypt." He spoke in a tone that was so deep and alluring that Sakura felt like she was being lulled into a trance. "In my coven, there won't be anyone to threaten you, and those who dare, will be dealt with accordingly." He continued promisingly. "Come with me and have any and every pleasure you desire, plus-" he paused to have a chuckle at Sakura's expense as her face had tinged with a blush at his suggestive promise. "Plus," he continued with a half-smile, "there's a benefit with only keeping vampires as companions…you won't have to worry about getting hungry…and accidently _eating_ them."

Sakura's lips tightened as his words bounced back and forth within her mind. She was so incredibly exhausted, between her battle and sacrificing much of her energy to heal Temari she felt as she was starting to hallucinate. The presence of the terrifying man seated just feet away from her felt oddly like a nostalgic comfort. She believed his assurances, though truthfully she really didn't know a thing about him. He awaited her response without alarm, his lips slightly parted and his eyes, though shocking in their brilliant color, were gentled on her in a manner she hadn't fathomed. A man she had experienced to be so fierce and unforgiving, suddenly left her feeling safe, serene and calm. For a moment she considered agreeing to allow him to take her anywhere, but like the strike of a match remembering its purpose she was reminded of who she truly was.

Shinobi didn't hide behind the strength of others. They _were_ the protection that stood between the wicked and the defenseless. She had become a kunoichi because she had wanted to protect her village through practice and mastery of the ninja art. The way of the Shinobi had been engrained within her her in many ways. Tsunade had trusted her with her teachings and had given Sakura the responsibility of carrying out and cultivating her lineage – her memory. Every day she went on living, breathing and was able to fight and defend…she would do it as a proud kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf.

"No." Sakura answered. Wrapped up in the passion of her thoughts she didn't care if Atemu perceived her response as rude.

"Here is where I belong, a-and-" she began to stutter feeling less confident under his arched brow. "I don't need taken care of." The young vampire finished as resolutely as she could. For a moment Atemu's face remained unchanged, but ever so slowly, a sly smile slithered across his countenance.

"You've misunderstood me, Sakura," he uttered throatily as his eyes lit up humorously. "I wasn't pleading for your consideration," the pause in his explanation made her heart leap to her throat. "If you do not wish to return with me on your own accord, I shall merely force you."

Sakura's body snapped to action before his threat even registered. She was on her feet deciding quickly if she should attack or flee when a commanding voice made her freeze.

"Sit down," he ordered simply. Whipping her head, Sakura looked toward the fastened window beyond her but was unable to run to it. A foreign feeling wrapped around her limbs and she walked timidly back to her abandoned seat. Looking toward Atemu, her eyes flooded with fear and confusion as she obeyed the irresistible compulsion to return to her chair. Planting her hands stressfully against the surface of the table, her eyes widened in horror when he began laughing softly to himself. Coming fluidly to stand, the ancient vampire strolled languidly toward her. She watched the smirk carved into his square jaw, until it disappeared behind her.

"Now you understand," the voice behind her taunted, "what is most dangerous about becoming a vampire." A soft whimper escaped her throat when she felt the warmth of his large hands cover hers. The pulsating heat from the masculine body hovering just behind her tormented the chilled and bare skin at the back of her neck. His nearness was both exhilarating and terrifying, she wanted nothing more than to get as far as possible away from this creature, but at the same time, she needed that God-like touch so much it was painful.

"There are many of our kind that take advantage of this," his velvety and low voice was so soft beside her ear that she shivered. "And it pains me to see you break so easily, I really do enjoy your spirited company." His breath was hot against her and she could _feel _the wicked smile stretched across his mouth. "But, alas, it is the same with every fledgling…you simply cannot disobey the one who sired you." Her half-lidded eyes flew open wide at that, and though her body was under his command her mind began to panic. She choked back a frustrated sob, she'd resisted Ino's body control in the past, but the power his simple order had over her was something she couldn't fight.

"Shhh," he coaxed near her ear. Relinquishing his hold he pulled her chair around to face him. Falling to a crouch he caught her frightened hues with an even stare.

"I'm only doing this to get your attention," he suddenly smirked. "Can't have you running away again – I suppose I could restrain you using an alternative method, but I thought you would find this preferable." Sakura frowned deeply. "Oh?" He laughed loudly at her now angry visage.

"It's alright," Sakura spoke, fiery challenge shining her emerald orbs. "I would be afraid of fighting me too." Atemu laughed again, so darkly that she immediately reconsidered her bluff.

"Oh, little Abi," he drawled, his eyes feral on the supple flesh peaking from her battle-ridden clothing before returning to her stubborn gaze. "You have no idea how much I would enjoy that, especially after seeing your beautiful performance this evening." He quickly wet his lips. "But allow me to clarify myself before you distract me any further."

"What do you want from me?" Sakura huffed exasperatedly. Reaching forward, he interlaced his fingers with her right hand. She flinched but the warmth and strength in his touch felt strangely pleasing. Holding her frown, she convinced herself she was only allowing him to do so to buy her time to figure out an escape.

"I tire of this little game." He commented with a sigh. "I had planned on observing you in secret, seeing all the details of this secret world of yours. Bakura has been checking up on you, it's the least he owes you after he allowed you to be attacked those months ago." Atemu rolled his eyes in a manner that made him seem genuinely human. "But the moment I saw you tonight," he tilted his gorgeous face contemplatively. "I was reminded of the true heart of my fascination. Leave this world be, it is far too dull and wholly unworthy for a being as extraordinary as you."

"I am exactly the kind of person who belongs here." Sakura countered.

"You never were, even before the night we made acquaintances. Admit it." She blinked at his smug expression. And truthfully it was something Sakura couldn't deny, even in the only world she'd ever known she'd always felt awkward and out of place.

"And this is your chance to escape it. Let it go. Some things exist better as pleasant memories rather than hanging on and waiting for its destruction." He rose to his feet and lifted her chin to meet his gaze with an elegantly long finger. "Believe me when I say you're far too exceptional to live forever hidden in the leaves."

"But you're wrong!" She protested. "Our village may not look like much but it means everything to me. It's where I grew up - where I pledged to serve and protect the ones who need it and the people I love."

"People you love?" Atemu laughed earning a scowl. "To drain?" He added sarcastically. "I assure you, there are delicious tasting humans all over the world."

"Stop it!" She protested passionately, earning an irritated snarl from the man standing before her.

"And how would these loved ones of yours feel about you? If they knew that you kill others for reasons other than a profession?" He inquired darkly.

"They love me." She said holding her jaw firmly. "Nothing will ever change that."

"There's no way you could possibly know that. You should be thanking me from rescuing you from the heartbreak, because when they find out-"

"They already know." Sakura interrupted him, earning a surprised look from the man before her. "Not everyone, but my friends – they've supported me ever since I returned." Recovering from his dumbfounded expression, the Egyptian narrowed his gaze.

"Nice try, you are a clever one aren't you." He leaned in and hovered before her ear. "I don't believe you." He uttered breathily. Quivering beneath his hovering, she regained control of her emotions and pulled backward to stare into his laughing gaze.

"Well, I can prove it." Remaining silent for a moment, all evidence of annoyance with her evaporated from the elder's face.

"You're serious about this aren't you? You really wish to pretend to be a human. Live like a lion denying yourself the blood of lambs," He grinned at her. "And you know you're missing out, don't you?" Sakura said nothing as he stalked around her, looking curiously at the small space of her apartment. "You may move as you wish."

Immediately, Sakura felt as if a weight had been lifted from her. Coming to her feet she appreciated the novelty of moving her limbs as she wished.

"Aren't you going to try to run?" Atemu queried darkly. Turning to face him, she resisted the urge to distance the space between them as he stood only a dangerous foot away. Lifting her chin toward his looming and taller form, she held her ground.

"I'm not running anywhere, because this is _my_ home."

"Well," Atemu smirked, "I suppose I shouldn't have expected any less. But even so, we are at a difficult impasse. Since I created you, you are my responsibility to both keep safe _and _in line." Sakura wrinkled her nose at his description of their relationship. "So how about we make…a wager."

"A wager?" The pink haired fledgling inquired. "For…what? Why?"

"It seems to be the only fair way to settle this. If you can convince me you can thrive in this ancient civilization of yours," he spoke in distaste, "without endangering yourself and your identity as a vampire to those who may react to it, then I'll leave you alone."

"Leave me alone?" Sakura asked questionably. "As in, you won't be showing up in my village and forcing me to leave with you with your-" She couldn't find the words.

"Persuasion?" Atemu offered with a growing smirk. "Yes. I mean precisely that."

"And what if I don't…_persuade_ you?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"Then you'll return with me to Egypt." He spoke precisely, "And this is more than fair, because as I've just demonstrated…I can easily force you to as I've requested, tonight." Seeing this as an opportunity she shouldn't squander, Sakura quickly jumped to attention.

"Ok, you have a deal." She spoke quickly. Flashing his fangs in a smile, the vampire held out his hand to her and she reluctantly shook it, hating how pleasant the handsome man's touch made her feel.

"So how does this work? Will you just come back and check on me in a few months or should I send a report or something…" She trailed and suddenly felt dread wash over her, understanding at once her mistake.

"Again you've misunderstood me," he leaned in brushing his long fingers against her cheekbones – her flesh growing hot beneath his touch. "Until you prove to me that you're as good at playing human as you claim to be…I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

THANK YOU TO: **Weapon D.E.A.T.H, Guest, RawrGoesDaDino, TheVampyricAssasain, wn123, Guest, Sakura Waldorf, angel897, brokenmaelstrom, LadyDream3512, Genuinely-Unique, xoulblade, Saris Yui, In The Foreshadow (Xall the chapters!), Blue Merit, Kraziibunny11, Ame no Uta, Cystal-Wolf-Guardian-967, Karin2789, Ranger Mitsuki, fuckme(lol), Wind of Suna, Hellcat-Sakura, lunakat, Anbu-chan, SakuAtem**, and **kapurisudesu** for reviewing since I last updated!

I feel as if I'm always apologizing but I've been so busy with my PhD that I have honest to god not had a lot of time to write fanfiction. Every one of your reviews inspired me to update this, I read them over and over so please review if you liked it and I will try my absolute best to update ASAP! I'm totally unworthy of your continued following, so I really REALLY thank those of you who will read this and review!

I wasn't 100% happy with this, mainly with Atemu and Sakura's interactions at the end but I can always alter it if I figure out what I'd want to be different. Anyway, thank you for reading, sincerely.

~El3


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